Jordan Peterson
Clinical psychologist and cultural commentator
Most quoted
"Order is not enough. You can't just be stable, and secure, and well-regulated. There has to be something else. Chaos is not enough. You can't just be creative, and dynamic, and exploratory, or you'll be dead, or in pieces. The proper place is the boundary between order and chaos."
— from 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
"You are not your own property. You are, in part, the property of your community, and your culture, and your ancestors, and your children. And you have a responsibility to them all. And if you shirk that responsibility, you're going to pay a price. And so are they."
— from 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, 2018
"The individual must conduct his or her life in a manner that requires the rejection of immediate gratification, of natural and perverse desires alike, and the sacrifice of hedonic pleasure itself to the greater goal of spiritual enlightenment."
— from Maps of Meaning, 1999
All quotes by Jordan Peterson (362)
The only way to find out what you believe is to act it out.
The individual has a responsibility to integrate the chaos of the world into a meaningful order.
The most fundamental question you can ask yourself is, 'What am I willing to sacrifice to make things better?'
Order is not enough. You can't just have order. You have to have chaos too. You have to have the potential for chaos.
The truth is a terrible weapon, but it is the only one that works in the long run.
Don't underestimate the power of a clean room. It's a small act of bringing order to chaos, and it can be profoundly therapeutic.
The greatest danger is not that we aim too high and miss, but that we aim too low and hit.
Suffering is inevitable. How you respond to it is what defines you.
To be truly alive is to be on the edge of your competence, constantly pushing your boundaries.
The purpose of life is to find a burden that you can carry, and to carry it with dignity.
Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes. The truth has a way of making itself heard.
The world is a harsh place, and you need to be tough to navigate it. But don't let that toughness harden your heart.
Chaos is the raw material from which all new things emerge.
The pursuit of meaning is a more profound and satisfying endeavor than the pursuit of happiness.
Don't be afraid to be a beginner. Everyone starts somewhere.
The only way to truly understand yourself is to confront your own darkness.
Integrity is not just about telling the truth, it's about living the truth.
The world needs people who are willing to stand up for what is right, even when it's unpopular.
Every day is an opportunity to become a slightly better version of yourself.
The greatest gift you can give another person is your honest attention.
Contemporaries of Jordan Peterson
Other Psychologys born within 50 years of Jordan Peterson (1962).