"Only by Embracing Reality Can You Become Better"

This article is Lu Canwei's 92nd original piece.

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Recently, I've been reading Ray Dalio's "Principles," which was recommended by the director.

You can check out a previous article I wrote titled "How the Economic Machine Works," which briefly explains Bridgewater and provides some background on the author. More importantly, the video content in that article is also from him. But today, I mainly want to discuss this book, which is rare for me to annotate page by page for highlights.

The book is divided into three main parts: the first part covers the author's experiences, the second part discusses life principles, and the third part focuses on work principles.

Today, I want to share some content from the book and my thoughts on it.

Accepting Reality

Dalio tells us to understand reality, accept reality, and deal with real problems. However, this does not mean we should give up on our dreams; rather, it means we should not be dreamers. He outlines a formula: "Successful Living = Dreams + Reality + Determination." So what does a successful life look like? Here is his answer:

Many times, we feel anxious, and this anxiety stems from the feeling that a successful life is becoming increasingly distant. If I am not busy working to earn money, I cannot enjoy life; if I am busy working, I still cannot enjoy life. I want to change the world but cannot accept my current inept self, which leads us into pain.

Of course, there are also those who cannot accept reality. They believe they are far superior to how others perceive them. Cornell University psychology professor David Dunning and his doctoral student Justin Kruger are very interested in this kind of ignorant confidence. They conducted experiments and found that when these individuals scored only 12 points, they believed they were at least above 60 points. This phenomenon is known as the "Dunning-Kruger Effect."

For those interested in the Dunning-Kruger Effect, you can check out my previous article "The Four Stages of Cognition: Which Stage Are You In?" Typically, they are in the first stage of cognition, unaware of what they do not know. Thus, they see everyone else as weak, just like in movies where the hidden master is always the janitor, while the young and ignorant protagonist thinks they can defeat the opponent with one move, completely unaware that the martial arts leader beside them is already trembling.

As I have consumed more content over the past six months, I have increasingly realized my ignorance. Many things that others consider common knowledge, I still believe I am right about. I used to frequently have flashes of inspiration, thinking, "Wow, this idea can change the world! Why is no one doing it?" In the end, that project became one of many buried projects of mine...

Later, I read an article about Wang Huiwen's story at Meituan, which roughly conveyed that a friend once approached him with the idea of letting Meituan's convenience store merchants sell flowers, with Meituan providing the flower supply chain, thinking it was a great opportunity. Wang Huiwen simply replied, "Why doesn't 7-11 do it?"

Similarly, a friend suggested we could share our mini-program in Moments, thinking that sharing posters and conversations was too simple. I later asked him, "Has the competitor implemented this feature? Why not?"

Even now, I sometimes still feel that some of my ideas are disruptive, but I immediately negate those thoughts and remind myself that I am just an ordinary person, leading me to a cycle of indecision. Until a few days ago, I heard A share that several years ago, he was chatting with a relative and discovered a project, thinking, "Wow, this can be played like this; it's so profitable." Unlike me, they didn't rush to act or get entangled in indecision but spent two years researching the project, eventually discovering it was indeed profitable, leading to their financial freedom...

Thus, when we observe something, we cannot just focus on one point; we must think from a broader perspective.

For example, if you see that I arrived at the company at 10:12, 10:15, 10:18, 10:24, and 10:26 over a week, what can you conclude? You might conclude that I am always late by less than half an hour. But if you look at a higher level, you will see that I have always been late. Is that the end? If you elevate your perspective further, you will realize that I am actually a lazy person...

Even if we accept reality, it does not mean we stop pursuing ideals.

The Truth

Many times, we find that when the truth does not align with our wishes, we resist the truth. Especially when I first realized I was "lucky with money," I would often go to Macau and refuse to believe in bad luck, insisting on playing a few rounds. Whenever I saw a lottery ticket, I had to buy one. Especially now that lottery mini-programs are so popular, I would try my luck, but none of these ever led to a win. Once I accepted this truth, I began to play more casually.

Just like "Industry Lucky Money" Lao Luo, isn't he also selling products with great enthusiasm now?

Once we accept the truth, we will move onto a new path. When the truth does not align with our wishes, we will not fall into negative feedback; instead, we will analyze the problem, learn, and then try again. The benefit of this approach is that it clarifies how we view problems.

Another point to mention is transparency with others; achieving this is extremely difficult, and extreme transparency may even lead to criticism. For instance, when I first started writing articles, I always felt that what I wrote was a pile of rubbish and was reluctant to write, fearing publication. This resulted in me becoming increasingly hesitant to write.

Later, I saw Boyang posting daily, and I began to persist as well. I found that those who inherently dislike you will think you are inadequate no matter what you do. However, those who like you will encourage you regardless of how poor your writing is. I no longer worry as much about others' opinions and focus more on myself.

Of course, I still sometimes feel fear and anxiety. I remember a friend telling me many years ago, "The best way to eliminate fear is to face it."

Being open and transparent allows me to accelerate my learning process. People can kindly point out my shortcomings, and the writing process itself involves constant reflection and review. Everything is difficult at first, and it can even feel embarrassing, but as you practice more, you become increasingly adept.

Everyone has different traits. I remember when I was starting my business, I used to give speeches everywhere and felt no significant issues speaking in front of dozens of people. However, after years without speaking, when I faced an audience of 20, I stumbled through my presentation. Some abilities, if not exercised regularly, may deteriorate. Just like my belly, after a winter without exercise, it became so fat...

Changing habits only takes 18 months.

Recommendations:

A 1999-born girl said: Sometimes life is more important than a job.

How to understand your strengths and weaknesses?

How to make fewer but correct decisions?

You should take responsibility for your own life.

You may need to plan for your own obsolescence.

How the Economic Machine Works.

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