The 90/10 Principle
Author: Stephen Covey
Discover 90/10 Principle
it will change your life
(or at least the way you react to situations)
What is this principle?
10% of life is made up of what happens to you
.........90% of life is decided by how you react
I basically agree with this idea
What does this mean?
We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.
-We cannot stop the car from breaking down
-The plane will be late arriving which throws our schedule off
-A driver may cut us off in the traffic
We have no control over this 10%
The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%
How? ........ by your reaction
You are having a breakfast with your family
Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt
You have no control over what has just happened
What happens next will determine by your reaction......
You curse
You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over
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 table
A short verbal battle follows
You storm upstairs and change your shirt,
back downstairs, you find your daughter has been busy crying to finish her breakfast
and she misses the bus
Your spouse must leave immediately for work
You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school
Because you are late, you drive fast and is fined by the policeman.
After 15 min delay, you arrive at school
Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye
After arriving at the office 20 min late
You realize you forgot your briefcase
Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse
You look forward to come home
When you arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your wife and daughter
Why?????
Because of how you react in the morning
Why did you have a bad day? Because you cause it
You had no control over what happened with the coffee
How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day
Next time, Choose your reaction, Think about your reaction
Can you just say to your daughter, "next time please be careful" and the whole scenario might be different.
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