Rules are not there to control you.
They are there to protect the game.
When you play by the rules, something interesting happens…
Everyone else has to decide whether they will too.
You obey the speed limit.
Someone else flies past you at twenty miles an hour over it.
At that moment, something interesting happens.
One of you is following the rules.
One of you is not.
Whether anyone says anything or not, both people are forced to look at themselves.
That is one of the hidden powers of playing by the rules.
It causes self-assessment.
SELF-ASSESSMENT IS WISE.
DENYING WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT.
Rules have been with us since the beginning of civilization.
Without them, there is confusion.
Without them, there is disorder.
Without them, people spend their lives arguing over what should have happened instead of accomplishing what needs to happen.
Children especially need to see this principle in action.
They learn far more from what we do than from what we say.
If they see us ignoring rules, bending standards, and excusing bad behavior, they will often imitate it.
If they see consistency, discipline, fairness, and responsibility, they are likely to imitate that too.
Remember:
What leaves the house with your children is often YOU.
The nature of every activity, organization, and game is defined by its rules.
Chess has rules.
Checkers has rules.
Baseball has rules.
Football has rules.
Business has rules.
Families have rules.
Societies have rules.
Remove the rules and eventually you remove the game itself.
You are no longer playing the same game.
You are making one up as you go.
As I often say:
Freedom without responsibility becomes chaos.
Consider driving.
Today we take traffic laws for granted.
Stop signs.
Traffic lights.
Speed limits.
Lane markings.
Right of way.
Imagine thousands of vehicles moving in every direction without agreed-upon rules.
How long would that work?
Not very long.
The rules protect everyone participating.
The same is true in business.
Workplace procedures are not there merely to create paperwork.
Most exist because someone learned a lesson the hard way.
They protect employees.
Customers.
Investors.
The public.
The mission itself.
People sometimes believe it is impressive to ignore the rules.
To rebel.
To create their own path.
Occasionally innovation requires questioning outdated systems.
That is true.
But rebellion for the sake of rebellion usually creates confusion, not progress.
If nobody understands your rules, how can anyone follow you?
One of the greatest teachers in life is example.
I learned many things not because someone lectured me.
I learned them because I watched others do them well.
I learned business that way.
I learned manners that way.
I learned leadership that way.
I learned responsibility that way.
People demonstrating the right behavior often teach more than people explaining it.
As I wrote in Pearls for the Soul:
“Your example speaks long after your words have been forgotten.”
— Richie Naggar, Pearls for the Soul
Here is something worth remembering.
If you consistently play by the rules, you become a mirror.
The person who cuts corners notices.
The person who lies notices.
The person who cheats notices.
The person who refuses responsibility notices.
Your conduct silently asks a question:
“Why am I doing it differently?”
You may never say a word.
Yet your example speaks volumes.
Rule players should understand something important.
By practicing discipline and responsibility, you naturally expose behavior that lacks discipline and responsibility.
You don’t have to attack anyone.
You don’t have to argue.
You simply continue doing what is right.
The contrast becomes obvious.
Meanwhile, those who constantly resist every standard often find themselves exhausted.
Always explaining.
Always defending.
Always arguing.
Always justifying.
That is a difficult way to live.
Life becomes much simpler when your actions align with what is right.
Rules are not the enemy.
Good rules create order.
Good rules create fairness.
Good rules protect opportunity.
Good rules allow large groups of people to work together successfully.
The next time you are tempted to cut a corner, bend a rule, or ignore a standard that exists for a good reason, pause and think.
Are you helping the game?
Or are you hurting it?
Because when you play by the rules…
The other guy eventually has to look at himself.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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