Principles by Ray Dalio is a well-known book on personal development and business. For those unfamiliar, Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds. While this background might suggest that Principles is primarily for a finance audience, the book's insights extend far beyond that. Dalio uses finance-related examples to illustrate his framework, but his core message is about utilizing the framework for developing and following your own guiding principles regardless of purpose. In fact, principles are just one of the many frameworks he shares to turn goals into reality. In this article, I’ll briefly share on how Principles has influenced my decision-making. The rest can be discovered for yourself by reading the book.
What are Principles
I don’t think it can be better said than from the man himself:
“Principles are fundamental truths that serve as the foundations for behavior that gets you what you want out of life. They can be applied again and again in similar situations to help you achieve your goals.”
At its core, this way of thinking encourages you to stop and reflect on experiences so you can better prepare for similar situations in the future. Principles act as rules and frameworks for making decisions that align with the reality of how life works. They apply to all areas—well-being, work, finances, relationships, and more. It’s not a revolutionary concept when you think about it, but putting it into practice is much harder, especially when ego, communication skills, and other personal challenges get in the way.
Impact on Decisionmaking
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face” - Mike Tyson
In life, we often get caught up in crafting the perfect plan, believing that diligent preparation will guarantee success. We do this for understandable, human reasons because we fear being wrong. But real progress doesn’t come from endless planning; it comes from engaging with reality, learning, and adapting along the way.
Principles serve as a guiding framework in this process. Rather than relying on rigid plans, they encourage you to interact with reality, acknowledging both your strengths and weaknesses, to better understand how to move forward. They create an ongoing discovery process, helping you extract lessons from both failures and successes. By continuously refining how you navigate challenges, you unlock real growth opportunities and get closer to achieving your goals.
Principles are Dynamic
Through this process, you learn from both the past and present while facing what’s directly in front of you. This continuous cycle makes challenging and updating your principles an ongoing process. As you gain experience, and repeat this cycle, your principles evolve, refining and adapting at each stage of your journey.
Over time, they become more consistent, shaped by the ever-changing reality of the world we live in. Principles aren’t meant to stay the same forever, just as your circumstances shift and evolve. That’s why it’s essential to revisit them regularly. By doing so, you gain fresh insights into how the world works, continuously refining your approach and moving closer to your goals.
Influence in My Life
Introspection comes naturally to me, and while I believe this structured approach to introspection can benefit anyone, I find it particularly effective for myself. I’ve applied it to major areas of my life, including personal growth, work, and leadership decision-making—revisiting my principles monthly and updating them over time.
When I first built my principles, I didn’t feel an immediate impact. However, with each new experience, I noticed a kind of muscle being strengthened, one that helped reinforce, refine, or even expand my principles. Over time, I’ve developed a deep connection with them, though there have also been moments when I’ve broken some. In those instances, I reflect on whether I failed to act in alignment with my core values or if the principle itself needs to evolve based on new realities. This ongoing process of refinement is something you can anticipate if you choose to explore and develop your own principles.
Final Thoughts
Ray Dalio’s Principles offers a powerful framework for navigating life’s challenges with greater clarity and adaptability. The purpose of principles isn’t to follow them rigidly as if they were rules, but to refine your truths based on real-world experiences — improving your likelihood of success in any situation you face.
For me, this structured approach has shaped how I make decisions, helping me adapt to new realities and stay aligned with my goals. While the process requires introspection and a willingness to challenge your own beliefs, the result is a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you.
If you haven’t explored your own principles yet, I encourage you to start. Reflect on past experiences, extract lessons, and create a set of guiding truths that can evolve with you. In the end, growth doesn’t come from a perfect plan, but from maintaining an open mind, learning, adapting, and trusting your truths.