Page 132 - Ray Dalio - Principles

how it’s both good for me and good for the system for me to
know how to interact with it well.

In gaining this perspective, I began to experience painful
moments in a radically different way. Instead of feeling

frustrated or overwhelmed, I saw pain as nature’s reminder
that there is something important for me to learn.
Encountering pains and figuring out the lessons they were
trying to give me became sort of a game to me. The more I
played it, the better I got at it, the less painful those situations
became, and the more rewarding the process of reflecting,

developing principles, and then getting rewards for using those
principles became. I learned to love my struggles, which I
suppose is a healthy perspective to have, like learning to love
exercising (which I haven’t managed to do yet).

In my early years, I looked up to extraordinarily successful
people, thinking that they were successful because they were
extraordinary. After I got to know such people personally, I

realized that all of them—like me, like everyone—make
mistakes, struggle with their weaknesses, and don’t feel that
they are particularly special or great. They are no happier than
the rest of us, and they struggle just as much or more than
average folks. Even after they surpass their wildest dreams,
they still experience more struggle than glory. This has
certainly been true for me. While I surpassed my wildest

dreams decades ago, I am still struggling today. In time, I
realized that the satisfaction of success doesn’t come from
achieving your goals, but from struggling well. To understand
what I mean, imagine your greatest goal, whatever it is—
making a ton of money, winning an Academy Award, running

a great organization, being great at a sport. Now imagine
instantaneously achieving it. You’d be happy at first, but not
for long. You would soon find yourself needing something else
to struggle for. Just look at people who attain their dreams
early—the child star, the lottery winner, the professional
athlete who peaks early. They typically don’t end up happy
unless they get excited about something else bigger and better
to struggle for. Since life brings both ups and downs,

struggling well doesn’t just make your ups better; it makes