Hello and welcome to episode 36 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath show. Today I want to talk to you about the 80:20 rule and how to simplify and solve complex problems in your life.
Today’s question is from Jonas and Jonas says “I’ve been stuck in a really bad environment for the past few years. Most days I end up fighting or quarrelling with people over petty issues. I’m not able to focus on my goals and I keep getting distracted.”
This is really common. A lot of us go through this. This is where wisdom and divine knowledge come in. All the great beings have messages that can help us.
I want to share a tip with you that will help you make that switch from frustration to freedom.
80:20
Firstly I want to talk to you about the 80:20 rule of God. This law states that people, events and situations that cause you problems only make up about 20% of your life. The negative aspects only take up 20% of your life. However we tend to blow things up. On a daily basis we exaggerate things and we make the twenty percent out to be more like eighty percent. We do this and it ends up spoiling the eighty percent which should be the good part! The day ends up being so spoiled that nothing gets done. This is the 80:20 rule of God.
Eighty percent of our day should be normal and positive but we end up spoiling it and this has to stop. Look at it this way. God has given us eight wonderful things in a day and we end up using only 2 to spoil it.
Gratitude
To remedy this we must have gratitude. I used to have the same problems. I would meditate every morning yet things would still go wrong during the day. I was doing things right but I still wasn’t able to get things done. I couldn’t enjoy the good moments. I wondered how I could bring back those good moments.
Krishna says that “contact of the senses with the object result in pain and pleasure but they are fleeting. Endure them. He who is the same in pleasure and pain wins the fruit of immortality.”
What this means is that we must have gratitude. I forgot that only that morning I was able to have the dedication to meditate for 3 hours and I should have had a lot of gratitude for that. Krishna thought me to be grateful for this gift as not everyone is able to do that.
Have gratitude for the good things, even if it is only one or two things like a nice home, a good job or a loving family. Be happy that you have those wonderful things. There are millions of people who don’t have these things. There are millions of people who have nothing.
Acceptance
So why do we need to have gratitude? I’ll tell you why. Gratitude is a strange emotion. It will bring you closer to God. It allows you to accept the world as it is and it allows you to accept the way things are. Forget about all the problems and things that you don’t have. Be thankful for the good things like your family-your mother or father. Have gratitude for the good things they gave you in life.
When you have gratitude a positive flow of energy will be released within you and when this happens you’ll find that 20% stays at the 20%. You’ll have the strength to keep the 20% where it is and not blow it out of proportion to 80%.
Endurance
What you also need is endurance. Endurance is not suffering and endurance is not struggling. Endurance is acceptance. Krishna says he who is the same in pleasure and pain wins the fruits of immortality.
Vivekananda writes:
Who dares misery and love,
And hugs the form of death,
Dance in destruction dance,
To him the mother comes.
We need to accept the good with the bad, the evil with the divine. Don’t try to distinguish between it. Endure it. It’s only a question of time so have the conviction to endure the 20%.
Say to yourself “I am accepting both love and misery” You can’t have one without the other. 80% percent and 20% make 100% so if we leave out one we will not be whole. The trick is to keep the misery at 20% by being grateful for what you have.
Like when you enter a dark forest or tunnel you know there’s no need to worry because there is light on the other side. This light is the 80%.
So Jonas you need to live by the 80:20 rule, have gratitude for what you have and you’ll learn not to blow the 20% up to 80%. Endure the bad because you’ll know it’s just a question of time. You’ll know that the 80% is waiting for you on the other side. Finally accept the good with the bad because you need both to make you whole.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
