Books for Clarity

I am a university student and I just finished a year of school. After reading some books this year I can say I am better off. It could very well be that it was just from growing older. However, I believe these books really transformed my view on how I should approach life. Jordan Peterson, Jocko Willink, Simon Sinek, and David Goggins created a completely new mindset for me.

Firstly, Jordan Peterson’s book “12 Rules for Life” really created the drive for a goal in life. It was like I was directionless. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and there were just too many things to look at. After reading his book I realized the importance of a life direction and taking on some kind of responsibility. It was crazy to think something as small as taking over this small task would lead to such huge results.

My roommate from the dorm grew acorns and he let me take a few. I looked after them for a few months and by this point, my mental health shot to the roof. I took care of these plants and as a result, I now have 5 growing plants. This small responsibility was the kickstart that started to grow a completely new person.

Secondly, Jocko Willink’s podcast was super insightful. Taking ownership of my own life and problems created a sense of discipline and control that I didn’t think I had previously. Everything that used to annoy me or create frustration with other people and myself sort of melted away. The problem was my fault and I had to fix it. After doing this a few times, I looked around and a lot of habits and systems that I thought I needed just dropped off because I could handle whatever was next. “Extreme Ownership” helped highlight my own ego and pride that kept shutting me off.

Thirdly, Simon Sinek’s book “ Leaders Eat Last” molded a new perspective. I didn’t look at other people the same way after reading his book. Before I read it I kept looking at other people like they owed me something. After I took that away people’s good sides started showing and my own judgment of myself cleared up a bit. It helped clarify my own life mission and steered me away from a bad path that I was going down. I was able to look past my own ego and put other people first. My being selfish I was able to become selfless. My actions turned towards others and in turn, I was able to gain more control than if I had held on harder.

Finally, David Goggins's book “Can’t Hurt Me” helped push beyond my self imposed boundaries. His 40% rule really took some time to think through, but eventually, I was hearing that voice that kept shortchanging myself. It was the voice that said it was ok to stop. That it was ok to not try as hard. I began to push past those thoughts and started introducing small sufferings into my life. Not in a negative way but in a controlled environment. Because of this my mind hardened and got stronger. My thoughts started to lose control over what I did and how I did it. I took control of the main programming. It is a lifelong struggle, but having inner strength is worth the effort.

These books and many more created a completely new mindset and perspective on life. I gained insight into how our brains control what we do and how to take over. I realized the value of other people and gained clarity for my own life because of it. I believe in the lessons in these books, and I think they can help focus our attention on what we find important.