A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
by Don Miguel Rui
Summary
This book is a telling of the Toltec rules to live by.
The first agreement - Be impeccable with your word
The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human. If someone calls you ugly when you are young you may believe that for the rest of your life until that agreement is broken regardless how much you change. That’s the power of the word.
Impeccably means without sin, sin means anything you do which goes against yourself. You go against yourself when you judge or blame yourself for anything. When you are impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself.
Say only what you mean, and realize that you can cause damage if you're not careful with what you say. Many people don't realize the power of their words and don't see the harm that can be caused by speaking carelessly, thoughtlessly, or aggressively. Most of us are aware that screaming at someone may be upsetting to them, but subtle little digs at them or gossip behind their backs can hurt others more than we realize, and in hurting them, we hurt ourselves.
The second agreement - Don’t take anything personally
Personal importance, or taking things personally, is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about ‘me’. Even when people say good things about you, they re not saying that because of you. It is not necessary to believe other people who tell you that you are wonderful — no opinions are truly objective and we all have our biases.
You are never responsible for the actions of others, only for you. Other people’s behaviors are a reflection of them only.
The third agreement - Don’t make assumptions
The problem with making assumptions is we believe they are true. We make assumptions about what others are thinking or doing and take it personally.
Not making assumptions by asking questions for clarity makes communication much clearer.
The fourth agreement - Always do your best
Your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next, but do your best so you'll have no regrets.
As long as you put an honest effort into life, you will have nothing to be ashamed of, and won't beat yourself up over a less-than-stellar performance in retrospect.
Action is about living fully. Inaction is the way we deny life. Inaction is sitting in front of the television for years because you are afraid to be alive and to take the risk of expressing who you are.
Say no when you want to say no and yes when you want to say yes.
My thoughts
So often when I read code or technical documentation, or even UIs, there are so many assumptions baked into what is written. Reducing assumptions creates simplicity. Think about what assumptions a given piece of writing has or even code. What are the prerequisites you are implicitly requiring people to have before they can understand what you’ve written?
Questions you should be able to answer after reading this book
The first agreement - Be impeccable with your word
The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human. If someone calls you ugly when you are young you may believe that for the rest of your life until that agreement is broken regardless how much you change. That’s the power of the word.
Impeccably means without sin, sin means anything you do which goes against yourself. You go against yourself when you judge or blame yourself for anything. When you are impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself.
Say only what you mean, and realize that you can cause damage if you're not careful with what you say. Many people don't realize the power of their words and don't see the harm that can be caused by speaking carelessly, thoughtlessly, or aggressively. Most of us are aware that screaming at someone may be upsetting to them, but subtle little digs at them or gossip behind their backs can hurt others more than we realize, and in hurting them, we hurt ourselves.
The second agreement - Don’t take anything personally
Personal importance, or taking things personally, is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about ‘me’. Even when people say good things about you, they re not saying that because of you. It is not necessary to believe other people who tell you that you are wonderful — no opinions are truly objective and we all have our biases.
You are never responsible for the actions of others, only for you. Other people’s behaviors are a reflection of them only.
The third agreement - Don’t make assumptions
The problem with making assumptions is we believe they are true. We make assumptions about what others are thinking or doing and take it personally.
Not making assumptions by asking questions for clarity makes communication much clearer.
The fourth agreement - Always do your best
Your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next, but do your best so you'll have no regrets.
As long as you put an honest effort into life, you will have nothing to be ashamed of, and won't beat yourself up over a less-than-stellar performance in retrospect.
Action is about living fully. Inaction is the way we deny life. Inaction is sitting in front of the television for years because you are afraid to be alive and to take the risk of expressing who you are.
Say no when you want to say no and yes when you want to say yes.