I am currently reading Principles by Ray Dalio, a book which I could not have come across at a more opportune time. A quality I admire about myself is that I can maintain my drive, ambition, and confidence no matter how stressful a challenge may be, but I honestly started to question myself at times.
When I got Principles in the mail, I read about 80 pages that night — and that was enough to get me jumping out of bed the next day, with renewed energy and motivation.
A key point that Dalio highlights is that we all go through hard times, but what determines the outcome is how we react to them. Do we stay upset and spiral downward – or do we push forward and take our lives to the next level?
Dalio reminded me that we all go through challenges and that there’s not much we can do about that, but we have the choice to let them affect us positively or negatively. If you want to use the challenge as a positive change in your life, learn to enjoy it. Instead of getting down when things don’t go your way, think about why that is so and “record” your “principle” along the way, so you can improve incrementally.
