90 / 10 Principle

Some of you might have heard of the 90/10 Principle written by the author Stephen Covey.

The Follow is from Stephen Covey: I would like to share with you his 90/10 Principle. What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. We have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. We cannot stop the plane from arriving late, 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 our reaction. You cannot control a red light., but you can control your reaction.
Here is an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just what happened. What happens when the next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse 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 shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for 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 are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. 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 daughter. 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 daughter 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 daughter 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. She 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. Both started the same. Both ended different. Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Vic's Thoughts: That all makes sense doesn’t it? Some will say it is impossible to react that way, but before we dismiss this idea and say “I can’t control how I react to negative things” I simply ask “where is our faith?” I am a recovering legalists, I relapse sometimes. When I do relapse I find myself trusting me more rather than God. I find myself easily angered, frustrated, and full of excuses of why nothing is my fault. Whenever anyone ever calls me out for being sinful or divisive I simply say this is me, deal with it. To say and believe that we can’t change, that we can’t be more encouraging, or joyful is to live without faith. That is the danger of legalism, it refuses to grow, it settles for less, and it ignores the transforming power of Jesus to turn even the worst of sinners into a kind and loving spirit. To live by faith believes that the spirit of Jesus is continuing to transform us into a loving, obedient, and encouraging members of His body (of His church). To live by faith, is to live a life connected to Jesus every day. We can’t control the events that happen around us, but with the power of Jesus we can control how we react to them. Jesus gives us a reason to live with love and joy. Connect with Him today!