The 90/10 principle

Readers,

The 90/10 principle is based on the premise that it does not matter what happens to you, but rather what matters is how you respond to what happens.

Therefore only 10% of your success or failure can be attributed to things that happened to you, but 90% is dependent on your responses to the happenings.

The first question to ask is whether it is true. Percentages for things like this are opinion. It is not a principle that can be measured empirically so if you are the type of person who dismisses such principles on the basis of it not being empirical, you would have missed the point of this post and blog in general.

However, the question whether it is broadly speaking true is a better question. I would like you to think of something in your life that didn't come naturally to you... something that maybe you even considered giving up, but persevered anyway.
Think back to what your response could have been and what impact it could have had. Hopefully, this exercise brings home the truth of the principle.

Here is my example:

I failed my UK driving test 4 times before passing it. Every time I failed, I felt sick to my stomach at the shame and wondered if would happen for me. After 3 tests, I started reading about other people's experiences of passing after multiple failures and it gave me hope and confidence that I too could do it.

Failure happens to everybody in life.  However it is important to always separate your act of failure from your perception that you ARE a failure.

The second question is how to apply this principle. The problem with today's world is that knowledge is widespread, but wisdom is lacking.

We as a collective race know so much, but apply so little of our knowledge.

Imam Ali  (as) said that knowledge which remains on the tongue is useless. The intrinsic value of it is that you act upon it.

We humans are forgetful so it is important to always seek reminders to keep our minds positive as that leads to higher energy levels and hopefully greater levels of productivity.

I will leave you with a quote:

Do not get upset with people or situations. Both are powerless without your reaction.