The 80% - 20% Principle

Achieving your full potential without struggle

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

I have always been intrigued by the ideas of the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. He observed in 1906 that for many phenomena, 20% of invested energy is responsible for 80% of the results. This important statistic reflects the value of conserving and balancing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual resources as a means of reducing struggle, and suffering.

I have observed among many of my students that those who develop a mastery of conserving and leveraging their most accessible resources such as time, space, emotional energy, etc., experience less unnecessary struggle than those who do not. Defining your strengths and learning to conserve them and apply them effectively and efficiently is not a simple exercise. This is a constant process that requires the ability to leverage different resources.

Conservation and balance is a discipline which is innate but often repressed or ignored in exchange for short term gain and immediate gratification. Once an individual has committed to the process this idea of consistent conservation and balance becomes as natural as breathing.