1. Do not automatically ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence or ignorance. But don’t entirely rule it out, either.
  2. Always go with the least complicated solution that fixes the problem.
  3. Everybody hurts, sometimes. Some more than others but nobody is immune.
  4. Until you have walked a mile in their moccasins, you do NOT understand. And might not even then. They sure as hell don’t understand you, either. So… be kind! Lord let my words be pure, sweet, and soft for surely I shall have to eat many of them.
  5. Holding onto anger at someone is like holding onto a burning coal, hoping to get a chance to throw it at them. You’re the one who gets burned.
  6. Everything is relative. Things could always be better or worse.
  7. Do not do unto others that which is hateful to you.
  8. The past is an unreliable memory and the future a vague dream. Do not let them contaminate the present.
  9. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
  10. This too shall pass away.

Then there are Gibbs’ rules from NCIS. They are like an unofficial addendum.

Gibbs’ Rules: The Complete List From NCIS

Pictured: Mark Harmon Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2012 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.