Three Simple Rules

There are rules for this and rules for that. Rules are everywhere. There was a song in the 70's about, "Signs, signs, everywhere are signs, saying do this, don't do that, can't you read the signs?" If there are too many signs with rules it most definitely will take a toll on us. 

Too many rules can take one over the edge. Of course, there are basic rules, really they are more laws, than rules, to avoid being arrested and charged with a crime. Everyone has to obey laws or else they put themselves out there for a possible jail term or fine.

For now, I am talking just basic rules to live by. My nature was to follow what I thought were 'the rules' unless they really went against what I believed to be right. This did not happen too often. In college, when I learned that boys had no curfews and girls had them? My thought process asked, "And this is fair because, why?" So, of course, I had to join in a "sit in" to get this ancient rule changed.

Since high school and college days, I have learned that there are basically only three rules to live by. My very intelligent husband had learned this long before I had. He was the one who taught me the saying, "We are adults. There are no rules." Putting this in the right context is important. 

I am talking Three Simple Rules In Life to make it work for you in this world without losing your sanity. Let me list them and speak my own beliefs about them. You can agree or disagree and please be sure to leave a comment, either way.

• If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it!  This is so true. You can speak of what you want. You can dream it. It takes a doer to make it happen. Go for the gusto, to speak! It is not going to just magically appear before you and happen. If it does, then please come to see me and tell me how. I want my novel to become a best seller so I know that I must first write it from the beginning to the end. That is how I will go after what I want, in this case. 
• If you do not ask, the answer will always be no. This is a very basic rule. If you want something, then you must ask for it. If you remain silent, then you are going to never know if it could have been yours or not. For me, this rule falls in the negotiating that one must carry on in life. Such as when I am ready to be published. I will keep asking and not give up. 
• If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place. Really, I do not want to step on anyone's toes. Some people love where they are. They don't feel the need to step forward and move on and that is wonderful for them. To tell you the truth, thank goodness for those people who are in jobs that they love getting up for each and every day; so there is no need for them to step forward and move on to the next level. I would be willing to bet though, that they do some level of moving along with the flow of their job. An example would be technology in their jobs. All of us must know some basic computer skills in order to function in 2017. For me, when I retired, actually long before that actual day, I knew that I would be stepping up to my next career as a writer.

There are plenty of people, such as myself, who have always needed to step forward and move on. Not so much because I was unhappy, more that I craved to try something new. While in the field of education, I requested to be changed to different grades for the sheer excitement of 'change.' Even trying out different administrative positions kept me energized and loving my job and what I did. I was lucky enough to be able to try things out in three different states that showed me there really was a difference in education based on where you lived in the U.S.A.

By the way, one of my heroes, is Dr. Suess. This man was a genius as far as I am concerned. Yes, of course, he wrote great books for children, of which many fit right in for adults to understand and read between the lines. A great example is, Oh the Places You'll Go. I am mentioning this great man because of the fact that in my files that I keep on writing I have Five Lessons in Life from Dr. Seuss. Each of his lessons fit perfectly into one or more of the Three Simple Rules of Life. Instead of merging them in above with the three rules, I decided to just post them right here for you to see for yourself.

I will leave you to ponder on the three rules of life and how Dr. Seuss has the lessons on how they fit in our lives. Really, it is all I need to remember in order to have a happy, healthy and positive life. We all have only ourselves to rely on so I know that I want to make good choices for myself. These rules and lessons help to steer me in the direction that I wish to go.

One more tiny, little thing...I am going for a beach home, listening to the waves as I write my novels; just following the three simple rules and lesson number 3 from Dr. Seuss.