"One Rule For A Better Life"

The world is shaped by artificial law. Each area of life seems to have an equation that is presumed to provide a solution. Economics is a series of equations and laws that determine rational consumer choice. Politics is based on a history of precedents that ultimately determines future decisions. Diets routinely say that anyone can be more fit in four weeks. There are books titled, "Ten Rules to Follow in Order to Snag Your Man" and "The Best Way to Make The Perfect Romantic Dinner."

Individuals and events are subjective. The world is inconsistent and instead of recognizing this, we treat it as if it were universally constant--a single strain of a virus that can be treated with one anecdote. But, in reality a virus is continually changing, becomes immune to one treatment, affects everyone differently, and routinely needs new antibodies to eradicate it.

In economics, they teach you that you are able to calculate the total utility (satisfaction) of a demand market from a simple equation. I don't believe it works in practice. Everyone in a market gains a different amount of enjoyment from consuming a single piece of pizza, so how would it be possible to calculate the enjoyment of an entire community. Even that number would be an overall average and it would be useless to apply that information back onto an individual, because her rationality differs from the girl's next door. In politics, they make future decisions based upon the past. For instance, it is common in the Utah legislature for congressmen to use the phrase, "slippery slope." "Oh, we can't let people in homosexual relationships make medical decisions for their partner, because then later we will have to grant them the right to marry." "Oh, we cant prohibit smoking in a car with an infant present, because then we will have to regulate everything else people do in cars." Why? Why would those provisions follow the others? Is the next law not its own individual circumstance? Do we have to decide everything based on what we have done or known in the past?

Similarly, a book can't tell you how to cook the perfect meal or how to find love. Maybe you like a little more spice in your fajitas than the recipe calls for, or maybe the boy your hoping to win over likes it when you call rather than "playing hard to get." The diet that helped your sister loose 20 pounds is not going to help tone your stomach, and the smooth line that allows your brother to get all those phone numbers is not going to get you a date.

Do we have to know our past to know where we are going? Each new experience and person has to be treated as its own. There are no formulas or equations to help you make the right decisions. There is no prescription that tells you to take two pills daily in order to gain everything you have ever wanted. There are no books that give you the answers. So stop existing by "the rules" and live each opportunity for what it is.