I'd like a principles inventory

[pdnewbie]

Hello everyone, I'd just like people to build up an inventory of as many truths about life as possible. Perhaps Steve, or someone else in the blogosphere, can write an article on this, highlighting say the top 20-30 principles about life as they see it.

I've read the article that discussed the principle of love, it was very insightful, and I aim to work on that principle. I would like more to look at though.

[Love]

Do you mean the top 20-30 insights to living life?
I think that most of them are out there in some form... do what you love... be kind to others... Have you ever read that passage, all the things I needed to know I learned in kindegarten? It's like that. Play nice. Rest. Etc.
I think the real challenge of life is learning how to do all those things that are so simply stated. And really interpreting what basic rules, ex. "Play nice" mean to you.
I bet some others will have some thoughts to add, too.

[RT Wolf]

I think principles and values are intrinsically linked, that both can be forms of the same thought, although there are some that can't be expressed with both.

There's one sorta, meta-principle or meta-value that I hold is that of personal integrity, or congruency. That is, I want to be congruent and consistant in my behaviours, values, beliefs, actions, thoughts, etc.

A list, hmm? A list of values that I think are important would include forgiveness, understanding, patience, hard work, persistance, determination, purpose and so on. Is this close to what you're looking for?

[pdnewbie]

RTWolf, I'm looking for immutable laws of life. That is, if you follow this advice it will definitely help you in a meaningful way. Inescapable truths about life, that, once accepted, continue to make you a better person, day by day.

[jojo]

I would say the greatest one for me is 'treat others the way that you want to be treated'. Regardless of how others treat you, I really think it is important to think about HOW YOU would want to be treated in a given situation and go with that...

Many Smiles!

[Sam988]

Principles are kinda subjective. Pick the ones that fit best for you.

[Adam]

"This, above all, to thine own self be true."

I think this just about sums it up. Be honest with yourself. Be brutally honest. If you're lazy, admit it to yourself. If you're pompous, own up to it.

Then, once you have told yourself the pure and untarnished truth about yourself, there's another aspect of being true to yourself... Take action to improve your life.

Taking action is quite futile if you don't know what areas to improve, and just figuring out what areas to improve without actually taking action will only make you depressed. You need both honesty and action, so this, above all, to your own self be true.

[RT Wolf]

^ Great point Adam. However, I disagree with one thing. I found that it was easier to be honest with myself (that is, I had less fear of being honest with myself) if I didn't feel that I had to take action to immediately change it. Sometimes, you need to break things down into steps. It was immensely empowering to allow myself to know about something I wanted to change but that I didn't want to/wasn't capable of changing it yet.