Mobsters, knights and samurai have a code. Do you?

In 2007, Italian police arrested Salvatore Lo Piccolo.

This guy was a real boss of the real Sicilian mafia.

As they explore his house, they came across what they believed to be their “10 Official Commandments” of their crew.

In other words, “If you want to be a good gangster, follow these 10 easy steps!”

1. No one can present themselves directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do so.
2. Never look at friends’ wives.
3. Never be seen with the cops.
4. Do not go in pubs and clubs.
5. Being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty – even if your wife is about to give birth.
6. The appointments must be absolutely respected.
7. The wives must be treated with respect.
8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
9. Money cannot be assigned if it belongs to others or other families.
10. People who cannot be part of Cosa Nostra: whoever has a parent close to the police, whoever with a two -step parent in the family, whoever behaves badly and does not hold on moral values.

These rules certainly do not cover each decision that each gangster must take every day, but these are rules that someone can learn, internalize and apply when they are in a precarious situation and do not know how to act.

The crowd is not the only team that has rules either.

The ancient samurai in Japan had “Bushido” alias “The Way of the Warrior”. 8 rules for their personal conduct code:​

1. Justice (Justice)
2. Courage
3. Bévality (mercy)
4. Respect
5. Honesty
6. Honor
7. Loyalty
8. Self control

Elsewhere, the knights in medieval Europe had a “chivalry code”, which covered things like “the protection of weak and poor, courtesy and respect, courage and military prowess”.

Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator and his colleagues soldier have always gathered with “strength and honor”.

In 300, Spartan soldiers knew “going home with your shield, or above”.

We have Rules for the rebellion of fitness and Also!

I raise these rules because we may not be gangsters, knights or samurai …

But I bet that adding rules to your life could help you.

The rules can help us make decisions.

Life is complicated and our brains are able to talk to us and get out of various decisions.

However, when we have a rule in place, this allows us to make a clear choice rather than dying it.

More importantly. We can make a rule once, then we don’t have to lose a brain or will on each decision later.

Here is a quick example:

Most successful popular regimes are simply a list of rules that people follow Make them eat fewer calories.

• Intermittent fasting means “I don’t eat between noon at 8 p.m.” “
• The Paleo diet means “I eat nothing but a cave man does not eat.”
• Vegan means “I don’t eat any products derived from animals.”

I’m not saying that one of these above strategies is better or worse than the others either. I raise these heuristics because they helped a lot and have been useless for many.

Each person can find a set of ambitious rules that help them improve their life.

I certainly have “Fitness” rules that I am usually::

I know that when I am these rules, “the path of the Nerd”, I have a fairly good chance of staying in shape, healthy and feeling good about my skin.

I also have rules to interact with the world and Be a good human::

These specific rules may not work for you, and it does not matter.

They are my rules.

Your rules must reflect your situation.

We respect the rules of others

Here is another fun hack: we might not like all the rules, but we tend to Respect the rules of others::

Our colleague offers you a donut, and you say “Ohhhhh, I shouldn’t.” They could come back with “Come on, live a little” because they don’t want to be the only person to eat a donut …

But if you say “I have a rule according to which I do not eat donuts during the week”, then you have a difficult rule that you follow, and your colleague will probably respect this.

Some people may abstain from certain foods or drinks for religious or personal reasons.

There is no reason why you cannot have rules for the fucking reason you want!

What are your rules?

A good combination of ambitious, professional and society rules is a good starting point. Or devil, just one of everyone!

Heck, even one for everyone can be a good starting point.

These rules should belong to you.

Here are some ideas to help you start:

• At work “I do what I say that I will do, on time, or I say to my team before the calendar if I need more time.”
• With friends, “I always send a note of thanks after being invited to something by a friend”
• For health, “I do not drink alcohol until Friday evening and Saturday watching university football”
• To sleep, “I only look at one episode of TV per night. I stop playing video games and I turn off social media at 8 p.m. »»

Start writing ambitious rules and see what it feels.

I find the most specific and the passage / fail the rules, the more you risk following them.

Rules that really help you make the right long -term decision in difficult situations. You know, these situations where your lizard brain says “eat the candies!” Or “Drink the drink” or “Stay late and contest for 7 hours!”

The rules can also be preventive so as not to find yourself in these situations in the first place.

We can use technology, application blocking software or recruit our friends to help us stay faithful to our rules.

Once you have identified your rules and note them, keep a trace of how you make them.

If you find yourself breaking your rules more frequently than not, it could be time to adjust the rules, think deeply or work with a therapist to start understanding Why And What’s going on.

Remember that failure can be a teacher hell, and to look at fear is a great opportunity to learn the lesson that life is trying to teach us.

-Teve