The ancient epic BHAGVAD GITA teaches human beings to achieve the 'Sakhshi Bhava' or the witness state, a state in which there is supposed to be no reaction.
It is no surprise that modern management gurus like Stephen Covey have also stressed upon the
importance of this quality, and his 90/10 principle is an indication of the same.
What is this principle?
10% of life is made up of what happens to us.
90%of life is decided by how we react.
What does this mean?
It means we really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane may arrive late or a driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. We determine the other 90%.... How?
By our reaction.
We cannot control a red light. But we can control our reaction. Don't let others rule us; we can control how we react.
Let's use 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 happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react.
Scenario 1: 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 jump traffic signals. After a 15- minute delay and throwing away Rs. 1000/- as traffic fine, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you have forgotten your briefcase. Your day has started terribly. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to returning home.
When you return home, you find that a wedge has developed in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.
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.
Scenario 2: You remain calm and don't react
Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, “Its 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 you seem to be having a good day.
Notice the difference?
Two different scenarios. Both started the same way. Both ended different...Because of how you REACTED. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.
Meditation helps us to remain in balance and as we grow in our meditative state, our reactions start decreasing.
We soon find ourselves in a witness state most of the time, enjoying ourselves and our surroundings, automatically benefiting from the 90/10 principle without effort!
It CAN change your life!!!
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