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14 Rules to Live By from Pythagoras

By Effluo | Published September 29, 2021 | 1 Comment

Imagine traveling to the past to meet with one of the most unique and influential person of all time, who gave us the Golden Verses or rules to live by.  This person is shrouded in mystery and enigma. He had a strong analytical mind, and his influence reached not only his contemporaries but great men of his future and our history, from Plato to Benjamin Franklin.   He provided great contributions to algebra, geometry, astronomy, music and even created a secret society shrouded in mysticism.

• Who is this person? 
• What secrets would he reveal? 
• What mysteries would unfold before you?

This person is no other than Pythagoras.  He lived in Greece around 500 BCE and if you were to try to learn more about him, you will soon find that it is nearly impossible to separate historical Pythagoras as a human being from the mythology which surrounds him.  You will find that he discovered the Pythagorean Theorem, and at the same time that he was a wonder-worker that could be in two places at the same time.  Yes, all of this is interesting, but how is it relevant to us today?  The Golden Verses of Pythagoras are attributed to be his teachings. It is a compilation of 71 saying that are further divided into Human Virtues and Divine Virtues.  

In “Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin“, Benjamin referenced reading Golden Verses and following their teachings. Without further ado, let us take a look and see what Pythagoras had to say on how we should live our lives.

1 – Focus On Spiritual Growth and Development

First and foremost Pythagoras stressed that we are spiritual beings.  The first rule tells us to look at the bigger picture and remember that there is more to this world than what can be seen.  The importance of worship, prayer, and meditation was stressed throughout his teachings.  Focus on spiritual growth and embrace your spirituality.

2 – Maintain Healthy Relationships With Family

Pythagoras reminded us that we are relational beings.  This rule stresses the importance of showing respect to those that are closely related to you.  Family is where we learn the meaning of relationships and how to accept and respect each other’s differences.  By learning to respect our parents and near relatives we learn tolerance and respect towards the outside world.

3 – Have a Strong Network of Friends

Pythagoras pointed out that we are social creatures.  He stressed the importance of having friends that you can trust and rely on.  They are the people that you can count on for guidance and who can inspire you to be a better person.  Everyone has faults, therefore, we should be careful not to break friendships too easily. 

Pythagoras stated,  “Power is a near neighbor to necessity”.  Because we are social creatures we need social support to get in positions of power. Power is tied to the need for support from others.  It’s very difficult and nearly impossible to get into a position of power, get that promotion, or grow your business without growing your network.

4 – Develop Emotional Intelligence and Self Respect

The fourth rule points out that we are emotional creatures and need to develop our emotional intelligence and self-esteem. Pythagoras stressed four major consequences that arise out of emotional distress.

Gluttony or overeating

We eat because we are hungry and we eat because we are … insert any emotion here … stressed, happy, sad, bored etc.  The list goes on, we eat to celebrate and we eat to comfort ourselves.  It is absolutely necessary to eat to satisfy physical hunger, but eating will not satisfy emotional needs,  As a result, we overeat.  This is where gluttony takes hold of us. It is now a well-known fact that emotional eating or overeating is something that we need to be aware of.  If we stay mindful and realize that it is not physical hunger that is driving us to eat, but an emotional one, we can then take steps to address the specific emotional needs.

Sloth or laziness

Similar to gluttony, this action, or inaction, is a result of our emotional state.  Most people are not lazy by nature, but laziness can be triggered by emotional states of fear and hopelessness.  Whether its fear of success, fear of failure, or low self esteem, feelings of hopelessness can drive a person to a state of sloth.   Understanding that we are not ‘lazy’ but specific feelings and emotions can cause this reaction, we can take steps to address the specific emotions.

Sensuality

The word sensual means “consisting in the gratification of the senses”.  Someone who is preoccupied with the senses is in reality preoccupied with themselves and their own sensual desires.  Extreme preoccupation with own sensual desires has been associated with narcissistic personality disorder where someone may crave attention and admiration and have an unrealistic sense of superiority. A narcissistic personality disorder is an actual condition that needs to be diagnosed and treated by a psychiatrist. The reason I bring it up here is that different degrees of selfishness can be found in all of us.  According to Psychology Today higher level selfishness has direct ties to low self-confidence and low self-esteem.   Again, understanding that we are not ‘selfish’ but specific feelings of insecurity can drive these reactions, we can take steps to address the specific emotions.

Anger

Psychology Today states that it is now generally agreed upon that anger is a result of an emotion, it is not the primary emotion. Anger is motivated by emotions of hurt, fear, and by a desire not to experience guilt.  Simply put, anger allows us to escape upsetting feelings.  This pattern of getting angry when we are upset is hazardous to our relationships. Instead of acting out when we feel hurt, or fear, or guilt, it is better to learn how to identify and “process” the specific emotion that is causing us to feel a certain way. Because we are emotional creatures, it is critical for us to develop our emotional intelligence and self-awareness to avoid the negative consequences.  Pythagoras summarizes this rule stating that we should above all respect ourselves. If we learn to identify underlying emotions and how to deal with them, we are learning to respect ourselves.

5 – Be Purpose Driven and Set Goals

This rule can be paraphrased into ‘think before you act’.   There are myriads of articles and books that were written over the last 2000 years on the importance of having a purpose in life, having a vision, and setting goals.    Let’s face it we are a busy nation.  We wear the badge of ‘Busyness’ with pride. Somehow the concept of “I am busy” became synonymous with “I am important”.  We love our To-Do lists and checking those tasks off.  But, if we stop and think about it, what are we actually accomplishing? Are we reaching our goals? Do these tasks enrich our lives and the lives of our loved ones? It’s true we cannot get away from all of the “busy” tasks, but we should be taking active steps to reduce them and add in tasks that will get us closer to our goals.

6 – ‘Memento Mori’ Remember Your Mortality

This rule reminds us that we are mortal creatures.  It seems like these days during the pandemic, we are surrounded by death.  It is hard to get away from it, so why should we remember our mortality?  What good can remembering our mortality bring us?  Interestingly, according to Stoics, the people who coined the term ‘MEMENTO MORI’, this practice of remembering our mortality actually gives our lives meaning and purpose. 

A more contemporary work, Mitch Albom in his amazing book The Time Keeper made a great point, “With endless time, nothing is special. With no loss or sacrifice, we can’t appreciate what we have”.  Having this reminder of mortality makes those little moments with our loved ones more special, and our relationships that more meaningful.

7 – Embrace Uncertainty

We are surrounded by uncertainty, and we need to learn to embrace this. We should take action on things we can change and let go of things we cannot change.  The first step is to have a good understanding of what things CAN be changed by our actions, and what things CANNOT be changed.  The second step is to let go and not stress over the things that we cannot change.  Pythagoras takes it further and says that we should not only be patient and not complain, but accept and move on.  The third step is to make the necessary changes for the things that we can change. In essence, the serenity prayer is really a paraphrase of this rule and summarizes it quite well. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

8 – Respect Opinions of Others But Think For Yourself

Pythagoras states that people around us have many opinions and points of view, we should not follow them blindly, nor reject them outright.  We should hear the different sides of the argument with mildness and patience, even the ones we disagree with.  If we are to draw from the previous rules of understanding our own emotions and knowing that we cannot change the opinions of another human being, we are left with patiently listening to and respecting another person’s opinions.  Being patient with the opinions of others does not mean that we have to agree with them.   Pythagoras is very specific in pointing out that we should not be led astray by persuasion nor do anything that is not profitable for us.

9 – Take Deliberate Actions

We’ve all been there.  Said something that we shouldn’t have or acted in a way that left us wondering that little question of, “What was I thinking?”  Often we find that we were not necessarily “thinking”, we were either reacting to something without much thought or were not paying attention to what is happening around us.  Pythagoras points out that it is important to consult and deliberate before acting so we would not do anything foolish.  Stay present and pay attention to your surroundings and to your actions.

10 – Be a Continuous Learner

Much importance is placed on learning.  Pythagoras states that in order to have a pleasant life we should learn all that we need to before doing anything.  Learning does not necessarily equal schooling.  It is self-development that continues throughout our lifetime.  Read books, take classes, listen to podcasts and continue to grow in different areas of your life.  It’s a key to a “pleasant life”.

11 – Take Care of Your Physical Health

Taking care of our health is a very important concept. Pythagoras starts out by stating that we should not neglect the health of our bodies. Moderation in drink and food is important.  It would be important to note that neither starvation nor overindulgence fit the criteria of moderation. The key is not neglecting the signals that our body gives us, this means eating when we have physical hunger (not emotional) and stopping when we are full. The next step is exercise.  Yes, even Pythagoras said that we should exercise.   There is no way of getting around this.  Movement is very important for us, but we should remember that moderation is important here as well.  We should not completely ignore exercise, nor should we obsess over it and overdo it.  Work with your body, not against it.

12 – Avoid Excessive Spending

This rule teaches us to accustom ourselves to a “neat and decent” way of living without excessive luxury.  I think Pythagoras and Kon Mari would have gotten along quite well.  They both advocate that we don’t need to have many things to be happy. We should have items that are valuable to us and bring us happiness.  Pythagoras in this rule states that we should not get things to show off or to seem rich. On the contrary, if we want to buy something, it should be meaningful to us.

13 – Practice Generous Giving

The benefits of giving have been studied through the ages, and the consensus is that not only does it improve social connections and make us happy it is also good for our health.  Cleveland Clinic reported that health benefits associated with giving include lowering blood pressure, reducing depression, lowering stress levels, and prolonging life.  Pythagoras put it simply, don’t be greedy or stingy.                                    

14 – Practice Regular Retrospection

What did regular retrospection mean to Pythagoras?  Every night before going to bed he recommends we ask ourselves the following questions:  What went well? What did not go well?  What should I change going forward? If during this examination you find that something did not go well, then change it going forward.  Also, remember to celebrate the things that did go well and give yourself credit for that.

Consistently Practice These Steps 

Pythagoras concludes his rules by emphasizing consistency.  We should meditate on them and practice these rules on regular basis. They have served great people of history and are still as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago.

1. Focus on spiritual growth and development
2. Maintain healthy family relationships
3. Have a strong network of friends
4. Develop emotional intelligence and self-respect
5. Be purpose-driven and set goals
6. ‘Memento Mori’ remember your mortality
7. Embrace uncertainty
8. Respect the opinions of others but think for yourself
9. Take deliberate actions
10. Be a continuous learner
11. Take care of your physical health
12. Avoid excessive spending
13. Practice generous giving
14. Practice regular retrospection

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