Rule of Life examples can help you create our own Rule of Life. This post offers Rule of Life examples from women and men, and from people in different walks of life.
You will notice that each example is organized the same way. The reason for this is because these examples come from people who have taken my Spiritual Formation Video Course, in which I recommend this format.
But as I’ve mentioned, you can organize your Rule of Life in different ways! For example, you might organize your Rule of Life in terms of time-based rhythms like daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual rhythms. Or you might organize it based on other categories like your mission, your vision, your roles, your gifts, and your relationships.
Rule of Life Examples From Women
A woman in her fifties.
My number one rule of life:
In all things (words, deeds, thoughts), I will glorify God.
Spirt
- I will seek to actively fill my heart thought fasting and prayer.
- I will love and serve others from the overflow of my heart.
- I will check my motives before acting (especially speaking).
- I will seek a heart of compassion.
- I will direct my strong will and determination towards seeking God’s will and not my own.
- I will actively study scripture and read reliable spiritual authors.
Mind
- I will capture my thoughts & submit them to God’s care and control.
- As I contemplate issues and problems, I will ask God for direction.
- I will use Switch on Your Brain’s process to change my thought patterns.
- I will boss my feeling around, especially with my “doing what I want to do or deserve to do” attitude.
Body
- I will consciously choose the food I put in my body.
- I will actually monitor (via annual lab work-some more often), listen & pay attention to my body and how well it is functioning & make adjustments.
- I will not eat processed foods.
- Strenuous exercise will happen 3x per week and regular exercise 2–3x for a total of 5–6x per week.
- I will look for variations of exercise to improve upper body strength, flexibility, and better balance.
Social
- I will be a soft place to land for hurting people.
- Truth will only be spoken when led by grace and discernment.
- Seek and foster relationships that glorify God.
- I will seek opportunities to expand my casual social circles to give opportunities for God to shine through me and direct me to the deeper relationship he wants for me.
- I will lead with transparency and trust in relationships.
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A woman in her fifties.
My number one rule of life:
Love God, love people, and trust and follow Christ.
Spirit
- I will love others well, starting with my family, putting them first.
- I will know God better and experience Him through His Word and prayer through dedicated times of prayer and fasting.
- I will give Him all my heart, no matter how much I want to keep it to myself, surrendering to His will knowing He wants the best for me.
- I will be honest with Him and with myself.
- I will be generous with my time and resources, saying yes more often, and following through on commitments.
- I will be obedient when God tells me to do something, and I will not put it off until I feel like it.
Mind
- I will quickly reject thoughts of guilt, shame and regret that threaten my mental wellbeing, and counter those thoughts with scripture—especially the what-ifs regarding Teague’s life and death.
- I will ask God’s direction and restraint before acting rashly based on my feelings, taking a pause to allow room for the Holy Spirit’s direction.
- I will trust God’s truth over my own feelings.
- I will fill my mind with things that are beneficial and not waste time with other “junk” by limiting my time with TV and social media.
- I will not be shut down or dismiss feelings that scare me. Instead, I’ll process through them and see where they come from.
Body
- I will take care of the body God’s given me and remember that Holy Spirit lives here.
- I will walk a minimum of two miles a day at least three days a week.
- I will make healthy choices in my eating habits—more green, less (or no) sugar.
- I will give myself grace when I mess up with my eating and exercising.
- I will commit to a skin care routine every morning and night, even when I’m “too tired”.
- I will remain committed to well check-ups and regular health screenings by scheduling annual physicals and semi-annual dental cleanings.
- I will strengthen my core and lower back through Yoga and stretching so that my serving will not be hindered.
Social
- I will be honest and transparent in my relationships.
- I will be bold and not shy away from hard conversations, praying before so that God will be honored.
- I will laugh and enjoy life with my people, allowing myself to relax and not try to control others.
- I will treat people with compassion and respect, whether they believe as I do or agree with me.
- I will know my neighbors by name, be a part of their lives as they allow and look for ways to minister to them.
- I will love others well and ask God to help me see them as He does. I will listen more and speak less.
- I will give people grace when they mess up or say something hurtful, and not retaliate. I will forgive and ask forgiveness.
Rule of Life Examples from Men
A man in his thirties
My number one rule of life:
I will always be an authentic person of integrity when in front of people and when alone.
Spirit: the heart and will that forms the character of my life:
- I will do everything from a place of honoring God.
- I will confess my sins to God and to another brother in the faith daily.
- I will make sure to be spiritually fed weekly by someone else so that I’m being led and not the one leading. This could be done thought media (video, movie, book, podcast) or a real life person.
- I will create space weekly to individually connect emotionally with my family.
Mind: the thoughts and feelings of my life:
- I will pause daily and appreciate something beautiful that God has made—Scripture, nature, art, people.
- I will meditate on Scripture every single day. At least seven minutes.
- I will remind myself with Scripture that no matter how I feel or think, I am a child of God’s and He is faithful to His word.
- I will read a little bit of really good fiction everyday.
- I will journal every week on what’s going on in my head.
- I will go to counseling again, if only for 6 month checkups.
- I will watch a great film/TV show every week .
- Everything I create will be at a level that represents the Creator of creativity.
Body: the temple of my life for God:
- I will workout three times a week. At least ten minutes.
- I will do yoga three times a week.
- I will Sabbath from my daily work of the mind by doing something with my hands.
- I will learn to be a decent builder and handy-man to provide for my family.
- I will limit the fast-food that enters my body to two times per week.
- I will be active with my kids everyday.
Social: the people surrounding my life
- I will spend time weekly with close friends.
- I will always be discipling someone.
- I will do a weekly activity with some good people.
- I will always have a close mentor in my life.
A man in his thirties
My number one rule of life:
To love God with everything.
Spirit
- To be a man who makes decisions in urgency but not in haste, in counsel but not in co-dependency, in wisdom but not in worldly wisdom
- To be a man who saunters through and savors beauty in life
- To find my value in faithfulness instead of outcomes
- To deal with hurt, doubt, and anger before the sun goes down
- To be a man who is quick to think, slow to speak, especially with criticism
- To eradicate all known sin in my life
- To confront in love and in good time instead of bottling it up or gossiping
- To pursue the beneficial, not simply the permissible
- To be a man who is fully present and who listens to remember
Mind
- Daily meditating in the Word
- Daily reflection through journaling prayers and lessons learned from God
- Weekly memorization of the Word
- Weekly extended reflection through solitude, silence, and journaling as Sabbath
Body
- Sleep eight hours a night, listening to the Lord for exceptions
- Eat fruits and vegetables daily; avoid white sugar and white bread
- Drink coffee sparingly, three or less times per week
- Regularly fast
- Retreat two times a year
- Maintain a vigorous prayer life with detailed prayer lists
- Work out three times a week with weights and cardio most times
- Appointments: regular chiropractor, dentist once a year, doctor once a year
Social
- Write friends letters often.
- Regularly confess and repent without letting time go on in sin
- Call family, relatives, and good friends (weekly, monthly)
- Seek 360-degree church (up, across, down, out) for regular fellowship
- To cultivate long-term mutually spiritually encouraging, trusting relationships
- To actively seek the stranger and bring them into my home
- To be a man of his word: faithful, honest, and appropriately open
- To care for God’s creation, knowing that it is a beautiful gift
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