On my trip to Paris, I started reading the book Principles by Ray Dalio. Principles are an important part of the inner philosophy. However, I haven’t really specified them for myself, and I rarely reflect on their implementation.
An interesting passage in the book, where the author share’s some principles which he thinks are universal for any human being, is about the act of speaking the truth.
For me, and I think for many others, speaking the truth is seen as a virtuous thing to do. It is a part of being ‘a good person’ and is often mentioned in the value and aspiration domain.
Dalio sees speaking the truth not from the other’s perspective, but from your own. In the book, he writes: “being truthful was an extension of my freedom to be me.”
Personally, I find this an illuminating perspective. You speak the truth for yourself so you can be who you are. Not as an honest service to others. This makes honesty a noble goal to pursue for yourself.
In my own inner philosophy, ‘honestly’ was connected to one of my core values ‘authenticity,’ but not yet to freedom. Now it is stronger integrated than it was before!
Is honesty part of your core values? How does this perspective resonate with you?
