The 90/10 Principle

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.