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Principles

Principles I use to examine work, relationships, risk, and health. I revise them when experience changes my view.

First Codified August 2026

Judgment

I Treat Beliefs As Provisional

When evidence conflicts with my view, I change the view. Conviction does not excuse ignoring contrary facts.

I Act Before Certainty, Without Risking Ruin

I act while uncertainty remains when delay costs more than error. I will not take a risk that removes my ability to try again.

I Stop Research When It Stops Changing The Decision

I stop collecting information when it no longer changes a choice.

Independence

I Earn Independence To Choose Better Commitments

I pursue financial independence so I can judge obligations on their merits. I use that freedom to commit to work and people I respect.

I Prefer Competition That Exposes Weakness

I want rivals who force better preparation. Winning has limited value when it teaches me nothing.

Relationships

I Will Not Trade Time With Family For Status

I judge achievement by what it permits me to give family and friends. More status is a poor trade for less time with them.

I Choose Friends Who Can Disagree

I want friends who can challenge my reasoning without contempt. Shared character matters more to me than shared opinion.

Discipline

I Use Routine To Protect Choice

I use routine to protect attention from mood and distraction. Commitments have to survive changes in how I feel.

I Choose Discomfort With A Purpose

I accept discomfort when it produces capacity or serves someone I care about. Pain without a purpose earns no credit.

Current Tensions

  1. I want financial security without delaying the life it is meant to support.

  2. Commitment can become an excuse to remain loyal to something destructive.

  3. Conviction can conceal motivated reasoning.

  4. Candor can satisfy the speaker while harming the listener.

  5. Optimization can remove the leisure it was supposed to protect.