The 80/20 Rule In Life

The 80/20 rule is simple. 80% of results come from 20% of actions (and hence also the other 80% of actions bring in only 20% of results). As it applies to most things, it probably applies to many parts of your life too.

The 80/20 rule means that we need to review our lives every now and then, and cut out actions that are done out of habit, but really don't contribute much to our success or wellbeing. This may include habitual actions and activities, toxic friendships where the other party really isn't interested anymore, or even an unattainable long term goal where it would make better sense to quit rather than to invest more. 80/20 rule reviews are painful, but are worth it in the end.

However, we shouldn't get too obsessed with the 80/20 rule, for example by applying it continuously in life, even pre-emptively judging any new activity or relationship by it. New activities and relationships, new goals in life and new commitments all have three things in common: 1) the likelihood of success cannot be determined right away, or even perhaps in the first year; 2) the first investments are often the most difficult and come with the least return; and 3) if you don't get fully into it and try your best at it, you aren't going to know what you can get out of it. Therefore, those who apply the 80/20 rule too soon often quit before they get any returns. It is best to not apply the 80/20 rule until patterns have become settled, which usually takes a year or more.

In conclusion, the 80/20 rule is very useful to go by, and can clean out much dead wood in our habitual lives. However, to apply it to new commitments would be a grave mistake. Like everything else, there is indeed two sides to this coin.

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Taylor Swift's latest video racist? What nonsense!

Taylor Swift's latest music video for Wildest Dreams has been predictably popular, like most of her other stuff. But unexpectedly, there has also been a weird suggestion floating around: that it is 'racist'.

What? How is it racist? That was my first reaction, and it is likely to be yours too, I think.

Apparently, they accused Taylor of not having enough Africans in the video, even though it is set in Africa.

From that accusation, you would imagine Taylor walking through a major African city, but surrounded by only white people, like in a white-only part of apartheid South Africa, for example. But no, the reality is nowhere like that. Instead, there simply are not many people at all in the video. It may take place in Africa, but the animals seem to be the other main attraction, besides Taylor herself.

So the charge of racism is nonsense after all. Not that you would expect Taylor Swift to be racist. People should stop saying nonsense like this. It distracts from the fight against real racism.

A Tale of Two New Political Leaders: Malcolm Turnbull and Jeremy Corbyn

In case you haven't noticed, (and it's not unlikely for many Americans, for example), just this past week the political landscape of the English speaking world underwent a major shift, with the election of two party leaders, Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister of Australia, and Jeremy Corbyn as opposition leader of the UK.

The election of Turnbull is a triumph for moderatism and liberalism. His predecessor Tony Abbott was widely seen as too conservative for Australia, out of touch on major social issues like marriage equality and climate change. This was seen as major reason for his continued poor polling, ultimately leading to his party replacing him with Turnbull. It's a lesson that you cannot force your beliefs onto the electorate, and that democracy works, after all. People want leaders who can unite, not leaders who are divisive.

The election of Jeremy Corbyn, on the other hand, is anything but a triumph for moderatism and liberalism. Corbyn is a committed socialist, and is seen as far too left wing for the UK. He received great support from members of the Labour Party, but it does not look like the rest of the UK would feel the same way. Already, people are predicting Corbyn to lose the next election badly. But even if he wins, if the story of Tony Abbott is any guide, he is likely to struggle to unite his country.

In the end, no country benefits from having a divisive government, and therefore the majority of people would not want one. We all have our passionate beliefs, but we need to respect the wide range of cultural feelings out there too. The Abbotts and Corbyns of this world may have passionate support from their base, but this is unlikely to ever result in a happy ending for all. This should be something we need to keep in mind, when championing any cause.

Life Journey Ideas :: Stumble Your Way Towards Your Dreams

Life can be a hassle to get through sometimes. What makes it all worthwhile in the end are the dreams we hold, and the possibility of achieving them. Yet the road towards any dream is usually not straightforward.

This means we often stumble our way towards our dreams. And by stumbling, I mean that we often have to move along, not knowing where the current road we are travelling on will lead us to, and even often walking paths that will lead to nowhere, only to realise and turn back, but with important lessons learnt. With this kind of stumbling, and with our dreams still firmly planted in our minds, we eventually get closer to our target.

In the journey of life, it is rare to be able to see the destination early on. But if you let your dreams guide you through your stumbling journey, you will get there one day.


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