Ray Dalio’s views on reality and evolution

“Reality works as reality works. In order to be successful, you need to know how reality works and operate by principles for dealing with it that get you what you want.”- Ray Dalio, in his article ‘Why Principles’

In this article, I will be breaking down Ray Dalio’s values on reality and evolution that he’s put forwards and elaborating on them.

So, first, who is Ray Dalio? He is an extremely successful hedge fund manager who’s written a book entitled ‘Principles’.

So, let’s get started!

1. “Be a hyperrealist. Dreams + Reality + Determination = A Successful Life.”
   I think what he means by this is that hard work, goals, yet still knowing where you are in life definitely helps you in life. Reality and a good grasp of reality really helps you in life because you’re ambitious, you’ve got grit, but you still stay grounded and you know how things really are (versus how you want them to be).
2. “Truth — or, more precisely, an accurate understanding of reality — is the essential foundation for any good outcome.”
   Staying grounded is essential in life. Understanding life and not having a delusional image or an overly optimistic/overly pessimistic view helps you know what you’ll be able to do next. You’ve got to know where you are to know where you’re going.
3. “Look to nature to learn how reality works.
   Don’t get hung up on your views of how things “should” be because you will miss out on learning how they really are.
   To be “good,” something must operate consistently with the laws of reality and contribute to the evolution of the whole; that is what is most rewarded.
   Evolution is the single greatest force in the universe; it is the only thing that is permanent and it drives everything.
   Evolve or die.”
   A good realization is that the world is evolving, and we should evolve with it. Facing the facts is super important and it contributes to us moving forward as a world. “Evolve or die” is such a true quote. If we don’t move forwards and adapt to change we won’t do well in life.
4. “Evolving is life’s greatest accomplishment and its greatest reward.
   The individual’s incentives must be aligned with the group’s goals.
   Reality is optimizing for the whole — not for you.
   Adaptation through rapid trial and error is invaluable.
   Realize that you are simultaneously everything and nothing — and decide what you want to be.
   What you will be will depend on the perspective you have.”
   You need to align what you want with what everyone else wants because it’ll make life much easier than if you plotted for world domination while everyone wanted to save the planet. It’s much easier to evolve with everyone else and hope to save the planet with everyone else than to go against everything.
   You need to make decisions about what you want in life. In 30 years, do you want to be working long hours, coming home stressed, and still not feeling satisfied with your current conditions? Or in 30 years, do you want to feel happy, and have a good life? It’s your decision and it helps shape your life. Make it.
5. “Understand nature’s practical lessons.
   Maximize your evolution.
   Remember “no pain, no gain.”
   It is a fundamental law of nature that in order to gain strength one has to push one’s limits, which is painful.”
   Without any stress, work, or toil, you can’t achieve success. No success happens with the snap of your fingers, and you have to work for what you want in life. Additionally, to gain power and strength, we have to push our limits and do our best to get the best result.
   It’s just like not being able to become omniscient if you don’t study. Or being able to swim without practice.
6. “Recognize that mistakes are a natural part of the evolutionary process.”
   Guess what? We all make mistakes. You may have heard this a thousand times, but that just makes it all the more true. Nobody’s perfect and nobody will ever be perfect. Being sad about the fact that you didn’t get perfect on that math test to having sent the wrong report in for your work, we all make mistakes. It’s only natural. But this way, we have room for improvement and we’re able to evolve.
7. “Being radically truthful and radically transparent will lead to better decision making and better relationships.”
   Rather than coddling people unnecessarily, be real. Be honest, and people will value your feedback more and want to talk to you more.

What I’ve learned from this overall is that mistakes are a part of life, being a hyperrealist will do good things, to evolve and being truthful is good. Thank you for reading my article and I hope you enjoyed it and got some valuable information!