Best Way to Change the World Is to Start With Yourself

It is my firm belief that the best way to fix the world—a handyman’s dream, if ever there was one—is to fix yourself, as we discussed in Rule 6. Anything else is presumptuous. Anything else risks harm, stemming from your ignorance and lack of skill. But that’s OK. There’s plenty to do, right where you are.

If you want to change the world, start with yourself and work outwards. Act locally first. Clean your room and set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world and try to fix other people. Learn to meditate and focus on your own breath. If you can't control your own thoughts, how do you expect to understand and control the world? This is how you build your competence in a way that will best have a positive impact on the world.

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.

Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

—Tao Te Ching, chapter 33

References

12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

Jordan Peterson on Cleaning Your Room - The Joe Rogan Experience

Yuval Noah Harari on The Story of Sapiens, The Power of Awareness, and More - The Tim Ferriss Show