90/10 Principle In Your Life – Part 1
We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%. How? By your reaction! You cannot control a red light. However, you can control your reaction. Do not let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.
Let us use an example:
You are eating breakfast with your family. Your little son knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business suit when you are supposed to attend an important meeting later. You have no control over what just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your son for knocking the cup over. He breaks down in tears. After scolding him, you turn to your wife and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table.
A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your outfit. Back downstairs, you find your son has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. He 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 80/km an hour in a 70/km speedlimit zone. After a 15-minute jam and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your son runs into the building without saying goodbye.
After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your some documents. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and son.
Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?
A. Did the coffee cause it?
B. Did your son cause it?
C. Did the policeman cause it?
D. Did you cause it?
The answer is “D”. You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.
Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your son is about to cry. You gently say, “It’s ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time”. Grabbing a towel, you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. He turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having. Notice the difference? Two different scenarios and both started the same but both ended different. Why?
Because of how you REACTED!!!
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