The Pareto Distribution

There is an ever-present relationship between effort and outcome in life. Also known as the cause and effect relationship, it works based on a 80/20 probabilistic distribution. Every time you commit to something, you get a result and this principle guides the notion that “80% of your results come from 20% of your effort”.

The most important thing about this principle is the focus!

If you focus on the 20%, the other 80% will come as a result. Whenever you are in a decision-making situation, focus on the 20% and you will naturally attract the 80%. Note that when you take a small step, you begin a major process of change.The key is to know how to take the first step.

A good example of this is when you start a diet.

When we start a diet, we often have so many ideas and plans that we get lost without even knowing where to start. We intend to buy a bike, gym clothes, healthier food and we ended up drowning in a sea of options.

We should instead focus on the 20% most important tasks that can be, for example, changing our mindset about diet, changing our eating habits or drinking more fluids.

When starting to work out at a gym, there are so many concerns that we can’t focus on the 20%.

Who will be my personal trainer? Will I be able to pay for the service? Should I do half an hour or a full hour of exercise?

But what we really should be doing is registering and attending the gym often. Those are the 20%!

When we have choices to make, we should list everything there is to do and remember that the fewer options we have, the easier it will be to decide. So, when faced with decisive situations, if we use the 80/20 principle we will see that the decision-making process will be much more efficient.

The 80/20 principle is a starting tool to simplify decision making and to move us from a point of stagnation, creating a prosperous field for our projects, for life to flow and to understand our emotions.