Learn to live by the 90/10 principle (2024)

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Arvie McGinnis
  • 419th Mission Support Group
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Author Stephen Covey described a principle he called the 90/10 principle. Ten percent of life is made up of what happens to you. Ninety percent of life is decided by how you react.

We really have no control over 10 percent of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down and the plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off.

A driver may cut us off in the traffic. We have no control over this 10 percent.

The other 90 percent is different. You determine the other 90 percent. 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 me use an example: you are having breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your uniform shirt. You have no control over what has just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react.

You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over, and she breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your wife and you 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 shirt. Once back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish her breakfast and get ready to go to school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you're late, you drive 40 miles per hour in a 30 mph speed limit zone. You get pulled over and, after a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 away on a traffic fine, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye.

After arriving at work 20 minutes late, you realize you forgot your backpack or briefcase. Your day has started terribly.

As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to going home. When you arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your wife and daughter, because of how you reacted earlier that morning.

Why did you have a bad day? A) Did the coffee cause it? B) Did your daughter cause it? C) Did the policeman cause it? or 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 happened. Coffee splashes over you, your daughter is about to cry. You gently say: "It's okay, honey, you just need to be more careful next time."

Grabbing a towel you go upstairs and change your shirt. You grab your backpack or briefcase, and you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff.

Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended differently.

Why? Because of how you reacted. You really have no control over 10 percent of what happens in your life. The other 90 percent is determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.

If someone says something negative about you, do not be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You do not have to let the negative comments affect you. React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, being written up or getting stressed out.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in the traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? (a friend of mine once had the steering wheel fall off) Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Who cares if you arrive 10 seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive? Remember the 90/10 principle and don't worry about it.

You are told you lost your job, did not get promoted, etc. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time to find a new job, study harder for a test or whatever the case might be.

The plane is late. It is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passengers, why stress out? It will just make things worse.

Now you know the 90/10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it. The 90/10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle.

The result? You will see it yourself. Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and headaches. We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle. It can change your life.

Enjoy it!

It only takes willpower to give ourselves permission to make the experience. Absolutely everything we do, give, say, or even think, is like a boomerang. It will come back to us.

If we want to receive, we need to learn to give first.

Remember, we cannot control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we react to it.

Learn to live by the 90/10 principle (2024)

FAQs

Learn to live by the 90/10 principle? ›

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 is the 90 10 principle of life? ›

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Author Stephen Covey described a principle he called the 90/10 principle. Ten percent of life is made up of what happens to you. Ninety percent of life is decided by how you react. We really have no control over 10 percent of what happens to us.

What is the 90 10 theory? ›

Understanding the 90-10 Principle

The 90-10 principle, or the Pareto Principle, asserts that approximately 90% of outcomes result from 10% of efforts. This concept originated from the observations of Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who noted that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.

What is the 90 10 rule of emotional intelligence? ›

The 90/10 Principle states that 10% of our life is made up of what happens to us and 90% of our lives are determined by our reaction to what happened to us. Simply put, a small number of our activities account for many of our outcomes. We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.

What is the 10 90 rule examples? ›

The 10/90 rule states that the company should be able to hire 13.5 analysts to measure what comes in through their premium web analytics tool. Or perhaps they would hire 10 analysts and use the other $350,000 left over to hire specialty agencies to help with technical implementation, project management or analysis.

What is the 90 10 rule? ›

The 90–10 rule refers to a U.S. regulation that governs for-profit higher education. It caps the percentage of revenue that a proprietary school can receive from federal financial aid sources at 90%; the other 10% of revenue must come from alternative sources.

What is the 90 10 rule where to live? ›

To figure out which factors to prioritize, it can be helpful to use what we call the “90/10 Rule.” Under the 90/10 Rule, you base where you should live on the factors that will affect 90% of your life.

What is the 90 10 love rule? ›

This time around, use the 90/10 Rule – commit 90% to you and only 10% to everyone else. My guess is that you've been using this rule in reverse – 90% to others and 10% to you (if even that). But when you commit mostly to you, I promise that your life will turn around in the most magical ways.

What is the 90 10 effort rule? ›

Without good project management, crossing the finish line might seem impossible. So, what is the 90/10 rule? In simple terms, it's the concept that 90% of the work needed to finish your project will take a mere 10% of the time.

What is the 90 10 rule of critical thinking? ›

The 90/10 Principle states that [1] 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, while [2] 90% is determined by how you react to what happens. [3] People have no control over the 10% but have complete control over the 90% through choosing their reactions.

What is the 90-10 happiness rule? ›

What percentage of your success (good results, good experience, good relationships) is tied to the outside and what percentage is tied to the inside? The thinking of Top 20s is that most (90%) of their happiness or success is tied to the inside world and that very little (10%) is tied to the outside conditions.

What is the 90-10 rule mental health? ›

They say that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Mental health challenges exist because people have not learned how to manage stress. We see it across the country.

What is the 90-10 ultimate thinking strategy? ›

The 90/10 Rule is simple. It means focusing 90 percent of our efforts on the 10 percent you and your stakeholders don't know. Because it's the 10 percent that leads to deeper insights and bigger opportunities.

What is the 90/10 principle and give an example? ›

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. Maybe it's a fragrance oil that accelerated and contributed to the fugliest batch of soap ever made, or a farmer's market that got rained out.

What is the 90 10 rule code? ›

The ninety-ninety rule is a humorous aphorism that states: "The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time."

What is the 90 90 rule in minimalism? ›

It asks two simple questions: Have you used this in the past 90 days? Will you use it in the next 90 days? If your answer to both is no (with the exception of things like seasonal clothes, holiday decorations, or anything used only for a specific part of the year), it's time to get rid of that thing.

What does the 90 10 rule refer to? ›

Most revenue at public and private nonprofits is. not from Title IV Federal Student Aid. The 90/10 rule requires that an institution “will derive not less than ten percent of such institution's revenues from sources other than provided under this title [title IV]” (Pub. L. 89–329, title IV, §487).

What is the 90 10 happiness rule? ›

What percentage of your success (good results, good experience, good relationships) is tied to the outside and what percentage is tied to the inside? The thinking of Top 20s is that most (90%) of their happiness or success is tied to the inside world and that very little (10%) is tied to the outside conditions.

What does the 90 in the 90 10 rule stand for? ›

In simple terms, it's the concept that 90% of the work needed to finish your project will take a mere 10% of the time.

What is the meaning of 90/10? ›

The 90/10 strategy calls for allocating 90% of your investment capital to low-cost S&P 500 index funds and the remaining 10% to short-term government bonds. Warren Buffett described the strategy in a 2013 letter to his company's shareholders.

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