90-10 rule

Tom Hanks’ famous line in ‘Forest Gump’ is quite accurate. “Life is like a box of chocolates” he said, “you never know what you’re gonna get!” Regardless of what life situations arise, however, the introspective spiritualist knows how to use them to make favorable and progressive steps in the spiritual journey. Martial techniques explain how to channel the force of the person attacking to you to gain advantage. Modern psychologists call it the 90-10 secret – 10% of life is made up by what happens to you, but 90% of life is decided by how you react. The ancient wisdom of India also gives some deep insight:

- In success, develop gratitude for those around us that made it possible
- In failure, see it as a stepping stone to better things and never lose hope
- In appreciation, develop an appreciation for those who offer kind words
- In criticism, find something constructive and relevant that you can work on
- In friendship, increase the mood of selfless service and never take others for granted
- In conflict, fight the ego and try to see from the perspective of the other

These all may seem like quite utopian reactions. It all makes sense on paper, but in the heat of the situation, things look quite different – other responses seem far more natural. However, to cultivate such disposition, means to nudge out all negativity from our consciousness. After all, negativity is like burning coal – as we hold it, ready to throw at someone else, we ourselves are burnt in the meantime.