Principles are ways of successfully dealing with reality to get what you want out of life.
Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, cites principles as his key to success.
In 1975, Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Over forty years later, Bridgewater has grown into the largest hedge fund in the world and the fifth most important private company in the United States (according to Fortune magazine), and Dalio himself has been named to TIME’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Along the way Dalio discovered unique principles that have led to his and Bridgewater’s unique success. It is these principles, and not anything special about Dalio, that he believes are the reason behind whatever success he has had. He is now at a stage in his life that he wants to pass these principles along to others for them to judge for themselves and to do whatever they want with them.
Life Principle
Know that the most constant struggle is between feeling and thinking.
There are no greater battles than those between our feelings (most importantly controlled by our amygdala, which operates subconsciously) and our rational thinking (most importantly controlled by our prefrontal cortex, which operates consciously). If you understand how those battles occur you will understand why it is so important to reconcile what you get from your subconscious with what you get from your conscious mind.
That damned amygdala, which is a little almond-shaped structure that lies deeply embedded in the cerebrum, is one of the most powerful parts of your brain. It controls your behavior, even though you're not conscious of it. How does it work? When something upsets us--and that something could be a sound, a sight, or just a gut feeling--the amygdala sends notice to our bodies to prepare to fight or flee: the heartbeat speeds up, the blood pressure rises, and breathing quickens. During an argument, you'll often notice a physical response similar to how you react to fear (for instance, rapid heartbeats and tensing muscles). Recognizing that, your conscious mind (which resides in the prefrontal cortex) can refuse to obey its instructions. Typically, these amygdala hijackings come on fast and dissipate quickly, except in rare cases, such as when a person develops post-traumatic stress disorder from a particularly horrible event or series of events. Knowing how these hijackings work, you know that if you allow yourself to react spontaneously, you will be prone to overreact. You can also comfort yourself with the knowledge that whatever psychological pain you are experiencing will go away before very long.
RECENT USER EXCHANGES
Does this mean our emotional self should be over examined before making decisions?
It means that the messages that you are getting from your emotional and logical selves should be reconciled to either be consistent (in which case you’re probably good to go) or chosen between (in which case you better choose wisely). Bhatia Do that instead of just trusting one or the other.
How do you improve the two yous?
By a) using self-discipline to do the right thing because the picture of the tragedy of doing the wrong thing is too ugly for you to tolerate until b) you developed the habit to operate this way which then makes it uncomfortable to do it any other way. Please understand that your life will be tragically less good than it can be if you don’t do it this way.
How do people go from conditioned automatic reactions that are related to the amygdala to more conscious actions?
By a) using self-discipline to do the right thing because the picture of the tragedy of doing the wrong thing is too ugly for you to tolerate until b) you developed the habit to operate this way which then makes it uncomfortable to do it any other way. Please understand that your life will be tragically less good than it can be if you don’t do it this way.
How does one differentiate between gut instincts and feelings or are they the same?
The important thing is to take the subliminal message that you’re getting, whether you call it gut instinct or feelings, and analyze it logically. Do that by trying to verbalize it and do whatever you’d do to analyze it logically - that might include asking people you respect to help you evaluate it so you won’t be subject to your emotional bias. If it works both logically and emotionally, go with it. If they are at odds, you have to decide which message you want to go with, which if you do this right, will be the logical one. That will require you to do what is emotionally difficult to do but is good for you, which is the key to being successful. The biggest impediment to success is people a) being unable to objectively get at the best thing to do by following this process and/or b) not having the courage or character to do the emotionally difficult but good thing to do.
Is awareness of our blind spots enough to help us?
Your awareness will let you see yourself making that mistake which will help you control yourself better
How do people go from conditioned automatic reactions that are in relation to amygdala to more and more conscious actions?
By a) using self-discipline to do the right thing because the picture of the tragedy of doing the wrong thing is too ugly for you to tolerate until b) you developed the habit to operate this way which then makes it uncomfortable to do it any other way. Please understand that your life will be tragically less good than it can be if you don’t do it this way.
Do you agree that it is hard to do this in real life?
Life is difficult. If you don’t do these things it will become more difficult than it needs to be because the consequence of not handling the conflicts between emotion and rational thought are devastating. That’s just the way it is. Once everyone realizes that, the best path is clear (ie to learn how to get the emotions and the logic aligned) and then people just need the help to get down it. If they refuse to go, there is nothing more that can be done; they will have to experience the consequences.
Why do I realize when I've overreacted towards something or somebody, I can not calm down?
That’s normal and can be handled better with practice. Your (and most people’s) subliminal self is probably more powerful than your conscious self but you don’t see it because your not aware of it (because it’s in your subconscious). With practice your conscious mind will observe yourself (as it sounds like you’re doing) and then manage yourself better. You will also be able to reconcile what is coming from your subconscious with what your conscious thinks. Btw, meditation helps one do these things.
Read this in your book Ray and it has served me well in my career.
Thank you for letting me know. Knowing that I am helping you and others is my reward.
Can you recommend any good techniques to make it easier to connect with your subconscious?
Meditation. You must do it.
Life Principle
- Understand That People Are Wired Very Differently
- Understand the great brain battles and how to control them to get what "you" want.
- Know that the most constant struggle is between feeling and thinking.
- Understand the great brain battles and how to control them to get what "you" want.
Any person or organization can adopt Principles to better achieve their goals.
Learn what Principles are and how they are applied at Principles.com
