26b. Give them the attention they need, and ensure they learn how to enjoy time spent alone Help them learn from failure, harshly punish dishonesty Encourage principled conduct Be gentle and humane Hold them accountable Always, always insist that they do their best.

26c. Everyone, no matter how mature, is occasionally childish. This is normal and sane. If a person is exceptionally sane, they will often be childlike, as well. If you don’t parent yourself well, you can’t parent a child well.

27. GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD SELVES The self can only express genuinely through skillfully practiced, authentic constraints. Healthy relationships of all varieties are only possible when all parties have good personal boundaries that each and the other respects.

27b. Testing boundaries is a normal human behavior. Crossing boundaries is aggressive behavior. Those who do not respect personal boundaries are unworthy of a relationship with you. Treat others’ personal boundaries with the respect and leeway you want for your own

28. MIND YOUR TRIBE People who want the best for you will: Treat you with respect Understand you have different feelings, opinions and wants, and want you to express them Want you to set your own priorities and communicate about them Not emotionally manipulate you

28a. Not withhold affection, attention or connection from you to get what they want Give you what you pay for and deal fairly with you Not threaten you physically, mentally or emotionally Want you to be happy and healthy

29. IF YE MINGLE YOUR AFFAIRS WITH THEIRS, THEY ARE YOUR BROTHERS (Thanks, Mohammed!) Your affairs will naturally mix with those with whom you are closest Do not allow yourself to get close with someone who is substantially less mature than you

30. THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES IS A CIVIL WAR Civil wars don’t have winners. Men and women need each other. The sexes are dialogic, and can't be analyzed in isolation. It is impossible to accurately divorce sexual phenomena from their relational context.

30b. Healthy people are in touch with both their masculinity and their femininity. A mature human, properly understood, is genderqueer. Healthy men and women like each other, think highly of each other and recognize the ways in which they complement and improve one another.

30c. Mature men and women understand their own sexual power and the influence they have on the opposite sex. They strive to use this power for wise and just ends. Men and women have lovingly collaborated throughout history, and and have given each other their best.

30d. Men and women should continue to collaborate to advance legal and social gender equality. Both male and female chauvinism are deleterious to gender collaborationism Chauvinism exploits gender roles for personal advantage. This is stupid, essentialist, reductive and cruel.

31. CONSENT IS FOUNDATIONAL I despise anyone and anything that requires me to violate my own integrity and go against my own will. When I act, I act freely. When I give, I give freely. I do not want anything from anyone that is not given freely.

31b. I do not want anything done for me against someone else’s will. To violate another’s integrity is to violate my own.

32. NOTHING IS CONSTANT BUT CHANGE Impermanence is the only permanent feature of the universe. Attachment hampers skillfulness. Long-term survival odds have a direct correlation with the ability to change.

33. IDENTITY IS A SCAM Identity is that which makes one legible to power. It is the source of your ability to be controlled. “I Am.” Anything that follows is a lie - a set of Rules and Expectations that systematically distorts being and communication.

33b. Teachers come in all shapes, sizes and sexes. Attachment to identity characteristics is false, unhelpful and unskillful Hierarchies based on identity are unjust Benevolent discrimination is just as wrong, if not as damaging, as malevolent discrimination

33c. If someone displays contempt for your identity but thinks “you’re one of the good ones,” they are not someone who wants the best for you That which we call God has no identity, and is wise enough to exist beyond name and classification Imitate therefore the ways of God.

34. RESPECT THE INHERENT DANGERS OF HIERARCHY Hierarchy is one of many natural features of the universe, and a necessary tool for determining Quality. Once a hierarchy is established, it becomes extremely resistant to complexity and very difficult to dislodge.

34b. It is better to construct internal hierarchies than external ones Hierarchies may be constructed on an infinite number of dimensions. Some dimensions are more useful than others. It is normal for any two given individuals to occupy unequal spots on any given hierarchy.

34c. Everyone, no matter their station in life, has a piece of the truth. Equality is impossible with someone who believes they are inferior to you.

35. OWN YOUR SHIT Own your shit, and let others own theirs. Responsibility is the ability to skillfully respond. Nothing more or less. Responsibility can neither be created nor destroyed, only transferred. You are not the general manager of the universe.

36. POWER FOLLOWS ITS OWN LAWS An ugly truth of human history is that 9 times out of 10, Thrasymachus was correct, and might makes right. Power is an extremely potent ego fuel that corrupts all who wield it. There are no exceptions to this.

36b. Power is a necessary evil: human beings need a enough of it to be free, to defend themselves and to have a chance at happiness. Large doses of power are toxic and addictive.

36c. Individual morality does not scale to institutional levels. Greater power requires greater amorality and dispassion to wield effectively. Sociopaths have a psychological shortcut to this. This is not an argument for amorality, it’s an argument against scale.

36d. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy power. Those who have power will do anything they can to hold on to it. The powerful will concede the trappings of power before they concede actual power.

36e. The Iron Law of Institutions: People care more about their position within an institution than they do about institutional values and aims. (deBoer) A person who does not understand the need for checks on their own position has no business being in power.

37. JUSTICE REQUIRES NONJUDGMENT Do nothing; seek wisdom. Life is too complicated to be fully understood. Justice demands a full airing of facts and a fair, nonjudgmental accounting of them all. Rushed judgment is not good judgment.

38. LIFE IS PAIN AND JOY IN EQUAL MEASURE I am not entitled to a life free of difficulty and pain. Pain is not unfair. It is part of life. There is too much new pain every day to hold on to old pain.

39. MONEY BRINGS OUT THE WORST IN PEOPLE The human love of money is not in and of itself evil. Wealth enables power, potential and security. But it also creates many poisons of the spirit.

39b. Once you have enjoyed relative financial security for a short time, you quickly forget the stresses of poverty and insecurity. When wealth is threatened, the reptile brain activates. Base instincts take over, ppl quickly abandon their principles, and become violent.

39c. Dealings with money need clear communication and bright, clear boundaries. Generosity feels good and confers social status, but take care to hide your means and wealth.

40. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH The acquisitive instinct, unchecked, is a destructive force. Material wealth enables capability and security, which are worthy servants but terrible masters. Being financially secure feels better than being a fancy bitch.

40b. The scientifically “ideal” amount of income for maximum happiness is $90,000 (inflation-adjusted for 2020) No one actually needs this much. Humans are happy when they own a few high-quality possessions, suitable for the present occupations of life, not idealized ego-image.

40c. The only time you can be rational about money is when you have enough. Having enough does not guarantee you will be rational.

Okay, those are the principles I've got written down so far. I haven't had a protracted period of self-work in a few months, but I have more in drafts that I'm working out. Will update when they're ready. Thanks for taking the time to read these.

@VividVoid_ Great insights, thank you for sharing.

@artdesignbySF 🫀

@VividVoid_ thank you for taking the time to organize these thoughts!

@weebertarian My pleasure, thanks for taking the time to read them 💛

@VividVoid_ appreciate you taking the time to share these — inspiring me to start putting pen to paper on my own principles. lots to reflect on, nourishing thoughts. thank you

@NoiseErgodic My pleasure, thanks for reading. Lmk if you publish yours, I'd be happy to read them.

@VividVoid_ It was a worthwhile read Impeccable principles, very concisely stated

@CountJ0ecool Thanks 💛

@VividVoid_ @readwiseio save thread

@VividVoid_ ♥️♥️♥️

@VividVoid_ That was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. Thanks for sharing.

@VividVoid_ Wow. So many great insights! I should have browsed your pinned tweets earlier. 🙌🏼