Inspired by Jordan Peterson.

1. Dark everything.

   Chocolate, coffee, vinegar, the crispy pieces of rice at the bottom of the bibimbap bowl, etc.

2. Buy a gourmet dessert sometime. Or, if you have cheap store-bought cookies, microwave them for 45 seconds before eating.

   Treat yourself. We spend too much time treating everyone else. Though, I am biased as I greatly admire artisanal baking.

3. Add hot sauce.

   If you love spicy, perfect. If not, it can be your occasional foray against risk-aversion, which everyone should exercise every now and then; live on the edge.

4. Accept compliments.

   It’s 2019: there’s probably someone stalking your online profile for the reasons you want. Give yourself credit where credit is due.

5. Paint, draw, take photos, or explore outside during the first days of Spring.

   Best time to appreciate weather and be creative is coming out of the metaphoric lull that can be winter.

6. Start making a nostalgia music playlist.

   For all those songs you endlessly played for two weeks straight, as I find memories from music to be stronger than those I created in my head. I also recommend a box for your favorite physical items, whether it be Polaroids, notes, or souvenirs.

7. Look back in your digital gallery every now and then, or if you have them, photo books.

   So that no matter how you feel right now, you can appreciate how far you’ve come.

8. If your grandparents are still around, visit or call them. Same goes for parents, but you can give yourself some space there.

   Family’s important, and it’s hard to ever payback the gratitude we owe them. But, if you had unfortunate circumstances or personal disagreements, it’s also okay to be grateful quietly.

9. Don’t overthink compromise.

   Live in the present, but don’t get too caught up in it. Be social, but give yourself alone time. Take things seriously, but not too much. The less you worry about which side of the scale you tip, the more freedom you have to pursue something else.

10. Be careful with admiration.

    It can incapacitate more than it inspires, particularly if someone else’s existence starts becoming your justification for yours. Fundamental attribution error.

11. Don’t take someone else’s achievement as your failure.

    I think it’s healthy to compare, but aggravating over a natural talent not bestowed, a specific task better done by another, or the like is being more angsty than we already are.

12. Listen, but don’t coddle.

    First, keeping two sides of an argument in your head without losing your sanity is such an attractive form of intellect. Second, almost everyone innately wants to be good; you don’t need to force it. Third, patronization is not kindness. Fourth, we don’t listen enough anymore.

Though these are my personal rules, what I found most interesting while building this list is how much of it is subject to change as I grow older. I’m not sure if that gives more credence to the notion that rules change, or that you just add them as you age.