18 October 2010
The 80/20 Rule (or Don’t Slash All Your Tires)
Have you slashed all your tires lately? No, I’m not talking about actual tires. I’m talking about your metaphorical tires. One of my favorite “dieting” (I hate that word) analogies is the “don’t slash all your tires” analogy.
It goes like this: If you were to get a flat tire while driving, would you then slash your other three tires because you already have to fix one? Um, NO! So why would you decide your whole day is “ruined” if you ate something you might not have originally planned to eat? Or something you consider “off” your diet? It makes no sense, and yet we’re all probably guilty of it to some extent.
We have to learn not to slash all our tires! Instead, implement the 80/20 rule (no, not THIS 80/20 rule!). The 80/20 rule plans for imperfection and spontaneity. It KNOWS you’re not perfect. It’s realistic.
Here’s how the 80/20 rule goes: If you stick to your goals/plan 80% of the time, it’s okay to be a little off 20% of the time. That doesn’t mean that as long as you’re eating well 80% of the time, the other 20% you should binge on cookies. It just means that if you’re a little off 20% of the time, it won’t cancel out the other 80%.
What you do 20% can cancel out what you do 80% of the time if you slash your tires. But you’re not going to do that, right? Right.
So next time you make a choice that’s not the very BEST, consider it a part of that 20% and move on.
