Social Survival Rules

1. The first social lesson: Society is complicated—first, protect yourself.
2. The second social lesson: Don’t trust anyone easily.
3. The third social lesson: Try not to help anyone.
4. The fourth social lesson: Do what you’re supposed to do—don’t measure/gauge anyone.
5. The fifth social lesson: Don’t tell your coworkers in society what’s on your mind.
6. The sixth social lesson: Don’t think too highly of everyone.
7. The seventh social lesson: Don’t reveal your family’s situation—no one will sympathize with you.
8. The eighth social lesson: Don’t care about other people’s opinions and evaluations—just do your best to be yourself.
9. The ninth social lesson: People never change—don’t take all relationships so seriously.
10. The tenth social lesson: There are no good people in the world—being true to yourself is the most important.
11. The eleventh social lesson: Once you enter society, no one will make allowances for you just because you’re young; they’ll only get worse and bully you even more.
12. The twelfth social lesson: Under interests, you see a person’s character; under power and sex/romance, you see their morals.
13. The thirteenth social lesson: Lean on others and others collapse; rely on the mountain and the mountain falls—your life depends on yourself.
14. The fourteenth social lesson: Sometimes you have to learn to play dumb—see through it, but don’t expose it.
15. The fifteenth social lesson: Sometimes you need to know how to get along with people—don’t easily offend others.
16. The sixteenth social lesson: Once you hit rock bottom, you’ll know whether the people around you are human or ghosts.
17. The seventeenth social lesson: You can’t be too honest—no matter how good your friends are, they may betray you.
18. The eighteenth social lesson: Don’t help people who have no conscience.
19. The nineteenth social lesson: Let go of that stubborn obsession in your heart, and life will naturally become at ease.
20. The twentieth social lesson: Anyone who can’t bear to see others do well or be capable, in their eyes it’s only a matter of winning or losing.
21. The twenty-first social lesson: Without social grace and worldly know-how, there’s no ease of mind.
22. The twenty-second social lesson: Look farther ahead—once you’ve crossed the mountains, your horizons will open up.
23. The twenty-third social lesson: Feelings are never cheap; kindness always has a bottom line.