(2023-09-24) Shapiro Memorized Rules How To Give Your Life Direction

Julian Shapiro: Memorized Rules: How to give your life direction. (This is a re-write/re-framing of (2021-07-22) Shapiro Starting Principles How To Turn Great Advice Into Action).... cf (mantra)

The second cause of advice laziness is not knowing how to navigate advice overload. My solution is to treat life advice like I can only remember a few at a time and to only memorize that which I can frequently use. See prev

actionable rules. I call this type of advice a Memorized Rule: a shortcode lodged in my brain for making decisions on a daily basis.

The most profound realization, however, is that adding a new Memorized Rule redefines your identity. These principles become your intuitions for what the right thing to do is. They influence how you treat others. What you work on. What you value.

Let's look at rules you may want to add to your own memorized list.

• List of principles*

There are three steps to the Memorized Rules framework:
Write your six rules on a sticky note.
Look at your six throughout the day when working on hard problems
Collect more advice and iterate on your six over time.

What makes a rule good?

How do you know when to swap a new rule in for one of your six? When it meaningfully changes your behavior.

For advice to truly change your behavior, I’ve found that it must resonate both emotionally and intellectually

Advice only takes root if it resonates with your past—because there's no way in hell you're going to let that happen again.

To avoid a childlike relationship with advice, Memorized Rules suggests living a varied life with unique experiences. (interestingness)

What's the difference between a rule and a value? I consider values to be a subtype of rule with a sense of how one ought to behave in order to be virtuous or emotionally fulfilled.

What to do now