The father of the house sets up the rules by which the family lives, and establishes order. The Modern Primal Man, must have rules to live by and solid values to guide his life. As the father sets up order so must the Modern Primal Man order his life and set the new goals, and habits to by. In doing so the Modern Primal Man learns from quintessential rules that have led societies for millennia, and from modern philosophers as to rules which establish order in one’s life.
The 10 commandments:
Quintessential rules that have survived millennia; we can find them in the worlds most popular book, The Bible. In the bible God provides Moses with rules to life by, in the form of the 10 commandments written on a stone tablet, by no other than God himself. The 10 commandments provide the not only a set of laws/rules to live by, but also a framework which we can apply in relation to any goal we have.
- You shall have no other God’s before me.
- You shall not make idols.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it Holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not lie.
- You shall not covet.
The 10 Commandments as a Framework
Let’s take a take a look at the commandments as a framework, the first 4 commands are about the relationship between God and yourself, and the following 6 commands are about you in relation to others (what to do, or not do, how to act, for a cohesive society). If we apply this framework to your goals the first 4 are about setting up goals, the rest would be what actions to do/not do to develop habits needed to achieve your goals.
Now let’s examine the first 4 commands in relation to goals:
- You shall have no other God’s before me.
- Keep focus on your goals
- You shall not make idols
- Don’t get sidetracked with things that would steal focus from your goals
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Don’t set goals in vain, unattainable goals, or goals without plans
- Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it Holy
- Take a day each week to examine your progress, and the execution of your habits
Modern Day Philosopher:
Now let’s learn from someone who I call a modern-day philosopher, Jordan Peterson and his book “12 rules for life”, and a what we can learn from it.
- Stand up straight with your shoulders back.
- Fix your posture and carry yourself as a high-status person, as your body and posture say a lot about how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you.
- Treat yourself like someone you’re responsible for.
- Most people treat those the take care after much better than themselves, and so you should treat yourself as you are someone you need to care for
- Make friends with people want the best for you.
- The company you keep influences you in many ways, make sure the company you keep wants the best for you and each other
- Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not someone else’s today.
- Track you progress against yourself, you’re not in competition with others
- Do not let your children do something that makes you dislike them.
- Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.
- Don’t go around finding faults in the world, when there are things at home that need fixing
- Pursue what’s meaningful not what’s expedient.
- Meaningful things take time, don’t seek after short term pleasure.
- Tell the truth or at least don’t lie.
- Assume the person you’re talking to might know something you don’t.
- Be precise in your speech.
- Don’t bother children while they are skateboarding.
- Don’t be anti-human, or self-appointed judge of humanity, as those who are usually lead to evil deeds
- Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street, a dog is also ok.
- Take time to appreciate the good things in life.
Applying it to The Modern Primal Man:
So, what does all of this mean to the Modern Primal Man?
- The Modern Primal Man has a solid set of value to guide his life
- The Modern Primal Man has a framework to accomplish goals
- The Modern Primal Man follows rules to ensure growth in his place within the hierarchy
- The Modern Primal Man is pro human
- The Modern Primal Man seeks meaning not pleasure
- The Modern Primal Man picks good friends
Special Thanks:
- Jack Donovan, his book “Fire in the Dark: Men and Gods” for inspiration
- Jordan Peterson, his book “12 Rules for Life”
- Father Mike Schmitz’s podcast, “Bible in a year”, for bringing back in touch with The Word.