28th April, 2022
The 90/10 Principle was popularized by Stephen Covey, the amazing author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
It states that: 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, and 90% of life is decided by how you react.
We truly have no control over 10% of what happens to us.
What does this mean?
We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.
We cannot stop the car from breaking down.
A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. You determine the other 90%.
How? By your reaction.
You cannot control a red light, but you can control your reaction.
Don’t let people fool you; You can control how you react.
Let’s use an example.
You are eating breakfast with your family.
Your daughter knocks over a cup of milk onto your business shirt.
You have no control over what just happened.
What happens next will be determined by how you react. You curse.
You harshly scold your daughter. She breaks down in tears.
After scolding her, you turn to your wife and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table.
You storm upstairs and change your shirt.
Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school.
She misses the bus. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school.
After a 15-minute delay you arrive at school.
After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase.
When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your wife and daughter.
Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the cup of hot milk cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did you cause it?
The answer is C
You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.
A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, getting stressed out etc.
Know the difference between reacting and overreacting. Identify your triggers. Breathe before you do anything.
Listen to your personal control tower, don’t over react and stay blessed forever.