No one alone can see a complete picture of reality

These days I have been listening to “ principles for success by Ray Dalio “ a lot in which the following sentence has made me think quite a bit.

“ No one alone can see a complete picture of reality”

Put simply, he states in this video that ego prevents us from seeing a reality as it is. 

Come to think of it, no matter how hard I figure out a seemingly complicated problem, there seem to be some things missing. Then, when a thoughtful friend helps me point it out, I often have a “ a-ha moment”.

Life is a serious of decisions one makes. What then can we make better decisions?

What I have been learning from him is that I should surround myself with as many thoughtful friends/someone as possible so that I can make the best decisions possible.

First of all, I try my hardest to figure out problems and then seek advice from them in order to see a better picture of reality.

If possible, I should ask them to disagree with me so I can learn potential risks/opportunities.

In other words, a quality of decision would be determined by how many thoughtful relationships one has established.

I still do not know at what point I should stop searching for a better decision, but whatever decisions I make, there must be a point where I feel more certain or I have thought out enough or sought enough disagreements. Thats when I act.

it seems that the nature of ego holds on to what ego thinks is right, hates being criticized by others, “ opinionated “

As Ray Dalio says, when detecting a movement of ego, I ask myself “ how do I know I am right? can I see a complete picture of reality all by myself? “

Asking this kind of questions to myself seems to be one way to remind myself that “ no one alone can see a complete picture of reality and so do not hesitate to seek advice from as many thoughtful people as possible with different perspectives.