Reimagine the Golden Rule: What they should also teach you in Kindergarten

In Kindergarten, I learned the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. I can still see this spelled out on a tacky banner plastered to my classroom wall. This is one of those life lessons taught early on but becomes ever-more relevant the more life we live. The message is simple yet significant. It’s not always an easy rule to follow and it probably has exceptions here and there. Nonetheless, it is a rule that transcends borders and cultures as it implies an innate human desire to be treated well. But what if we reimagined the golden rule? To shift the focus from the way we treat others to how we treat ourselves. That isn’t to say the former isn’t important. It is the golden rule, after all. A simple reminder to do unto others as you would have them do unto you is powerful and deserves real estate on the everyday human conscience. But how about taking one step back — can you really expect to treat others as you want to be treated if you don’t first treat yourself as you want to be treated?

Logically speaking, we must first have a baseline of what is acceptable treatment of ourselves. The golden rule assumes that we know this and can use it as an example of how we should act towards others. That’s a big assumption given how little society talks about treatment of self. Maybe it seems that we should…