Pareto Principle : How The 80/20 Rule Helps Me Achieve Goals In Real Life
I’ve been applying the Pareto Principle in multiple aspects of life for the last couple of years.
If you don’t have a good idea of what the Pareto Principle is, and how the 80/20 rule applies to fitness, you can read this article I wrote in 2020 before you continue below.
Now, let’s get to the chase.
I have a clear-cut approach for myself.
And contradictory to what you would assume me to say, I do not believe in optimizing things to get the BEST results.
Not just because the BEST is subjective, but also because of the Pareto Principle:
80% of the effects are produced by 20% of the causes.
And I believe that it is understanding this simple yet profound statement that has allowed me to manage working towards multiple goals at once.
While I want to excel in specific domains, I do have other domains where I want to establish good results but don’t intend to be the best.
For example, I would love to be healthy, but I don’t want to be the healthiest person ever who never allows themselves access to “junk” food.
Similarly, I would love to stay lean and ripped, but I don’t want to inject steroids or live in the gym 24/7 trying to get there.
And while I would love the idea of improving my body composition as a fat or skinny fat individual, the concept of getting powerlifter strong chasing numbers and going down the path of bodybuilding never appealed to me (though I’ve even given that a shot along with my countless other desperate attempts).
Similarly, while I’d like to generate investment returns, I wouldn’t want to go all out with my risk-taking to the point where I’m a literal gambler.
So, if you notice, I have had multiple goals, and it seemed impossible to achieve everything all at once.
This is where the 80/20 rule changed the game for me.
I realized that in many of my goals, I would be more than satisfied achieving 80% of my potential.
Which just takes the application of 20% of the principles.
And while that sounds like a bad mindset, consider this:
If I achieve 80% of my potential in multiple domains by applying the basic 20% principles required, I can then unbiasedly be in a position to select what I want to go all out in going forward.
It was only later that I came to realize that most people don’t even achieve 80% of their potential.
And that’s when I realized that applying the Pareto Principle was almost like a superpower.
But then why is it so difficult?
Perfectionism.
Everyone hates the idea of not being perfect.
Not one person I’ve come across in life has told me that they feel okay not being perfect.
They always gravitate to one side of the pendulum.
It’s all or nothing.
Either they eat like there’s no tomorrow or they turn into a bodybuilder.
Either they don’t invest at all or they turn into gamblers with their money.
And the very few who try to keep “balance” still seem to be unhappy with their goal-achieving process.
Once I had clarity of what I wanted, and not what society expected me to want, I could start setting clear-cut goals.
I knew I wanted to build just enough muscles to not be soft and flabby but not be a bodybuilder.
I didn’t need to workout multiple times a week
I didn’t need as much training volume as the industry suggests
I didn’t need as much training frequency as the industry suggests
I didn’t need to do powerlifting lifts to get big numbers
I didn’t need to adhere to everyone’s standards of what was right for me
The solution was simple, 2-3 weight training sessions a week with progressive overload to achieve my goal.
And when you read this, it almost seems logical.
I just wanted to not be fat/skinny-fat.
Why did I have to turn into a bodybuilder or powerlifter for that?
But it’s crazy how the mind can be influenced by countless factors.
I knew I wanted to be lean and ripped but not starve and do a lot of high-intensity cardio.
I didn’t need to eat ultra-low calories
I didn’t need to do low carb (which I didn’t even find realistically possible as a vegetarian)
I didn’t need to do keto
I didn’t need to eat high amounts of protein (again, very difficult on an Indian Vegetarian diet)
I didn’t need to sacrifice eating out
I didn’t need to care about protein timing
I didn’t need to do countless hours of HIIT sessions a week
I didn’t need to run or do spin classes
All I had to do was eat in a calorie deficit with sufficient protein while walking to get my steps in.
Again, sounds very logical when I put it like this doesn’t it?
Why does someone who just wants to lose fat have to turn into a fitness fanatic to get ripped?
But look around and ask yourself if you don’t see countless people fall into this trap every single day?
I knew I wanted to invest but not have high turnover and screen time.
I didn’t need to predict the future.
I didn’t need to be a finance expert (in fact I had to unlearn everything, right from my undergrad to professional qualifications)
I didn’t need to scalp short-term moves to generate return.
I didn’t need to over-leverage or be glued to the screen.
The solution was developing a systematic process that helped me execute positions without predicting the next move.
Because even if you tried to predict, you’re just guessing.
No matter how sophisticated your analysis and indicators are.
Again, sounds logical, but look around and you’ll find people chasing short-term trends and shortcuts in every cycle.
While these are just three domains used as examples, I have countless other examples, right from reading to time management, where I apply the Pareto Principle.
80% of investment results come from 20% of the trades. (Mr. Buffet accepts himself)
80% of fat loss results come from 20% of nutrition principles.
80% of natural muscle gain can be achieved with 20% of the exercise section in a bodybuilding program.
80% of my productivity is achieved with 20% of focused work in the flow state.
80% of the wisdom and knowledge I acquire is from 20% of the books I read.
And the list goes on.
Just google for examples of the Pareto principle and you’ll get what I’m talking about.
Conclusion
Now, I know that these are debatable.
And I know that you could have your rationales for going all out.
And if that works for you, do not change it.
But if you are someone who is stuck and is finding it impossible to progress, maybe let go of Perfectionism.
Set a goal of figuring out the 20% of principles that lead to 80% of the results in a given domain.
And then master those 20% before you move forward.
For all you know, mastering the basics could be all you need to get where you want to be.
You can always specialize once you’re there.
Much love,
Vinay Kodnani
New reader? You can learn more about me here.
