I'm reading The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch and find it very fascinating. Probably the most interesting non-fiction I've read in the last four months. Basically...
"The 80/20 Principle asserts that a minority of causes, inputs, or effort usually lead to a majority of the results, outputs, or rewards. Taken literally, this means that, for example, 80 percent of what you achieve in your job comes from 20 percent of the time spent. Thus for all practical purposes, four-fifths of the effort—a dominant part of it—is largely irrelevant. This is contrary to what people normally expect." (p. 4)
Now, what would happen if we applied the 80/20 Principle to our own health? We'd likely find that 20% of the foods we eat are responsible for 80% of our health and energy. Similarly, we'd likely find that 20% of the foods we eat are responsible for 80% of our illness and fatigue.
So what's the 20 percent?
On the healthy side of the equation, you've got vegetables, some fruits, some nuts and berries, etc. On the unhealthy side of the equation, you've got ice cream, cookies, and all manner of desserts.
Here's a simple way, then, to improve your health: eliminate the 20% of foods that are causing you illness and fatigue and increase your consumption of the 20% of foods that are improving your health and energy.
Ignore the other 80 percent. You will receive very little payback from attending to this 80 percent, and your efforts will be distracted from where they should really be focused.
If I cut 20% of the bad and add 20% to the good, am I not left with just 60%
:)
Posted by: Wilson McMichaels | 10 March 2005 at 03:22 PM