These are my ten rules for living a good and virtuous life.

Rule One: Respect individual’s differences, no too people are alike. Learn to respect all people even those who may disagree with you.

Rule Two: Respect yourself, you must understand and respect your own unique perspective on life if you are to learn how to follow rule number one

Rule Three: Know when to fight for your beliefs, take a stand on what you believe in but be prepared to be challenged. Educate yourself in your beliefs before attempting to stand your ground.

Rule Four: Know when to turn and walk away, you will not win all of life’s arguments. Some people just won’t listen or are too stubborn to see your point of view. Know when the battle is lost and go prepare yourself for the next one.

Rule Five: Learn to be a critical thinker. You must learn to analyze critically any argument placed before you. Never accept anything at face value. Do the research. Learn to be skeptical.

Rule Six: Never stop learning. You can never completely master a subject. Any scholar in any discipline will tell you this. There is always an opportunity to learn even from things you may think that you have mastered.

Rule Seven: Know when to be humbled. No person on this earth is 100% perfect. Those who think that they are better than someone else are delusional.

Rule Eight: Learn to forgive. Anger and resentment will consume those who cannot forgive.

Rule Nine: Learning to Forgive does not mean Forgetting: Forgiveness is a kindhearted understanding of someone’s flaws. However you must not forget that persons flaw especially if it causes harm. Be wary not naive of treacherous people.

Rule Ten. Learn to Love. The world is a beautiful place full of wonderful people and cultures. You must learn how to love other human beings. Love is the key to understanding and connecting with others.

I find that following rule number four is very difficult but necessary. I have found myself caught up in useless arguments and senseless bickering. Sometime people just cannot be reasoned with. This is probably attributed to their own experiences. I have been working on this one for quite some time and I still have a long way to go.