Author: Stephen Covey Edited by Kira and Pam Thomas Discover the 90/10 Principle This principle will change your life (or at least, the way you react to situations.) WHAT IS THS PRINCIPLE? 10% of Life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of Life is decided by How YOU REACT to what happens to you. Your choices! What does this mean? We really have NO control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%. HOW? BY YOUR REACTION! OR Choices. Example: You are having breakfast with your family. Your child knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what has just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you reacted. YOU COULD CHOOSE TO: You curse! You harshly scold your child for knocking the cup over. Your child will then break down in tears. After scolding your child, you turn to your significant other and you criticize your loved one for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle of blame and shame follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back down stairs and you find your child had been too occupied with the tears disappointment and failure with themselves to finish with their breakfast and getting ready for school. Your child misses the bus. Your significant other must leave immediately to work. You rush to the car and drive your child to school. Because you are late; you drive 40 miles in a 30 mph limit zone. After another 15 minute delay and throwing $60.00 for a traffic fine away, you arrive at the school. You child runs into the building without saying good bye. After arriving at the office 30 minutes late, you realize you forgot your briefcase. Your day had started off terrible and as it continues, the day seams to get more complicated and even more hassles. You look forward to coming home when you arrive at home; you find a friction in your relationship with your significant other. WHY did you have a bad day? A) Did the coffee cause it? B) Did your child cause it? C) Did the Policeman cause it? D) Did you cause it? The answer is “D” Because of how you reacted to the incident of the spilt coffee, you had a bad day. You had no control over the spilt coffee. How you reacted in those first 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have happened: Coffee splashes over you, your child is about to cry….you gently say: “its okay, honey, you just need to be more careful next time.” You grab a towel and you go upstairs to change your shirt. You grab your briefcase; you come back down stairs to see your child getting on the bus. Your child turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and greet your staff. Notice the Difference? Two different scenarios both started the same and both ended different. Why? Because of how you reacted, you really have no control over 10% of what happens in your life. The other 90% will determined by your reaction. We suffer from underserved stress, trial, problems, sorrow, tears and headaches. What if…… 90/10 principle this principle can change your life. Only takes will power to give ourselves permission to make the experience. Absolutely everything we do, say or even think, it’s like a boomerang. It will come back at us…. If we want to receive, we need to learn to give and forgive first. Maybe we will end with our hand empty but our hearts will be filled with love and respect for others. And those who love Life have the feeling marked in their hearts.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 13:29:26 +0000
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