The 80/20 Approach to Life

Life is hard. Being human, suffering is inevitable. Sickness, death, and war are of course the big ones, but we can also include waking up on the wrong side of bed, heartbreak, and feeling far away from your desires.

Suffering occurs when we don’t yet have what we want, as there’s pain in wanting things to be different than the current reality. Acceptance of what is becomes easier when we zoom out on our lives and take an 80/20 approach. 80% of the time life will be great, fun, and a pleasure to be alive, and the other 20% will be hard. Sometimes really hard.

Accepting that suffering is a part of life, but not the only part, allows us to look for the lessons in the present moment and be with what is, while having faith that life will not always feel this way and that our desires are still making their way to us.

So the next time you’re feeling pain from not having what you want, try to have faith and hold onto your desires. Know that this reality won’t last forever, and take a bigger view of your life to realize there’s so much goodness yet to come.

** This mindset does not apply to people whose basic needs are unmet or who currently feel unsafe. It’s a privilege to look at bad days as simply bad days and not life or death situations**