The world needs role models like Dr. Jordan Peterson, especially for the young. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that minds are showing greater fragility as each generation changes. We’re being raised in a society that lacks the teachings of morals and standards. The language we are exposed to through media and the entertainment industry can be aggressive and rooted in self-righteous ideologies. These are not the messages that foster stability in mankind. From a young age, we’re being crushed by these influences. We’re not being guided in the right direction.
This isn’t to say that we don’t have fathers, or that all fathers are failing. What I’m saying is that our modern teachers are not guiding us in the way our innate morals desire. We are all born out of love, and we should all be showing this love unconditionally—not being taught division and hatred.
As a young boy, I remember my father telling me to clean my room. Like most kids, my bedroom was disorganised 99% of the time. I didn’t want to tidy my room because it felt like a chore. A typical exchange would go something like this:
“Tidy your room, Daniel.”
Door slams
“Sorry, I can’t hear you, I’m outside playing.”
“DANIEEEL!!”
Years later, I had an important job managing an expensive asset for a gentleman who took me under his wing just two weeks into my sobriety. He would leave me to my own devices, occasionally checking in to see if I needed guidance or another kick up the arse. He gave me a warm place to stay on his large boat and trusted me to keep the thing afloat. A couple of months had passed since I last saw him. He usually gave me a heads-up when he was coming by.
To my surprise, one evening I arrived back at the boat to find him on board, foaming at the mouth over the state I’d left my cabin in. Clothes on the floor, bed unmade, empty bottles and food wrappers scattered around. I remember this moment like it was yesterday. The same feeling returned, like when my father would yell at me for not tidying my room. I thought to myself, ‘I’m done.’
Standing there, bracing myself for the inevitable explosion—heart in my stomach, eyes on the floor, maybe even a bit of pee in my pants—I heard nothing that I’d prepared for…
“This is not your childhood bedroom, Daniel. Why is it so disorganised? Why haven’t you made your bed or taken out the rubbish? Why are your socks on the floor and empty bottles everywhere?”
I wondered, is this the calm before the storm? But he continued, calmly: “Make it the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning. Achieve something straight away. Tidy things, get your room in order. When you organise your bedroom, you start the day by accomplishing your first goal. Organise your environment so things are in place, so the energy can flow.”
And just like that, it was as if a switch flipped in my mind.
There’s a difference between being told you have to tidy your room and being told why you should tidy your room. This is why we need people like Jordan Peterson in our lives. He changes the language we’re subjected to. He explains the reasons behind things that seem unclear in this world. Like the gentleman who sacrificed so much to help me back on my feet, we owe a great deal to those who stick their necks out to help others. Even if it means looking like the bad guy for a while, they do it because it’s the right thing to do—to help those who need it.