Wouldn't life be wonderful if we never made mistakes? Imagine how much money you could save through the years if you never purchased any of those products that look so good before you take them home and later turn out to be useless. How much effort would you spare if you could perform any undertaking without mistakes?
The function of principles is to condense lessons from the past that we can apply to our present. Rational guidelines cannot guarantee success in your endeavours, but will reduce the risk of failure and minimize any ensuing damages.
What are the principles of rational living and how can we use them in our daily life? From the work of Aristotle, Epictetus, and Spinoza, I have extracted the following three guidelines, which I consider the backbone of a rational life:
- Use the law of cause and effect to your advantage: Understanding that reality works according to cause-and-effect constitutes the difference between civilized men and savages. Despite influence of family and society, each individual is the principal agent of his own fate. Accepting responsibility for your actions means taking charge of all aspects of your life that are under your control.
- Take good care of your health: Each individual has control of the food he consumes and determines how much he exercises. Few ignore the crucial role that nutrition and physical fitness play in maintaining good health, but how many men and women actually take action on the basis of such knowledge?
- Identify your lifetime goals: Barring major accidents, humans can expect to become at least 70 years old in many areas of the world. Research has repeatedly proven that setting long-term goals plays a decisive role when it comes to achievement.
Rationality demands us to strike an adequate balance between our habits of the present and our expectations of the future. If you care little about being healthy and are willing to spend your life's savings on hospital fees, there is no reason why you should adopt healthy habits in your daily living. If that is not the case, then you know what to do.
The three principles above can be complemented with other recommendations, such as:
- Accepting catastrophes philosophically and taking swift action towards recovery
- Learning from mistakes in order to improve your effectiveness
- Befriend honest people and ditch the rest or, at least, minimize your contacts with aggressive or nasty individuals
- Actively protect your privacy and possessions
- Stand up for your rights and do not give up too easily when you meet opposition
[Text: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com]
[Image: photograph of classical building; photo taken by John Vespasian, 2017
For more information about rational living, I refer you to my books
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Here is the link to a media interview just published:
- John Vespasian interviewed by Ryan Glick and Charles Reeder on "The Timeless Family Podcast" about self-reliance in education.
