The 80/20 Rule

My friend Jamie loves her Victoria’s Secret lotion, it smells so good she gets compliments when she wears it. She happens to be very health conscience and eco savvy so I asked if she was concerned about the parabens and chemicals in it. She had a great point. She said she’s so careful about most things she uses that she’s just not going to worry about it.

That’s my philosophy, my own little 80/20 rule: 80% of the time I live as clean and healthy as possible and about 20% of the time I let things slide a bit. Not to be confused with the original 80/20 Principal suggested by business-management consultant Joseph M. Juran based on Italian Economist Vilfredo Pareto’s theory that in business it’s usually 20 percent of what you do that produces 80 percent of the total result. I’ve often heard nutritionists talk about the 80/20 rule when it comes to diet: eat healthy 80% of the time and relax a little the rest of the time.

I can live with that. It’s doable and makes sense. I eat well but I gotta have some ice cream or frozen yogurt to give my sweet tooth a little satisfaction. Do I make sure my kids eat healthy balanced meals the majority of the time? Absolutely, but do I take them to McDonalds once in a while? Sure. How about you? Are you 80/20, 50/50, 100%?

You know how passionate I am about green, clean chemical free living; most of my personal care products are pure and earth friendly but my favorite perfume isn’t. I love the smell and get loads of compliments when I have it spritzed on, so until I find a suitable eco replacement, it falls under that 20%.

I also appreciate a couple of shots of a good tequila or vodka once in a while and I’m not going to feel guilty about enjoying my favorite gluten free chocolate chip cookies with a nice cup of coffee when the craving strikes! Hard core tree huggers might not be happy about this but you can only do what you can do and every little bit helps. About 20% of the time I’m more carefree, loosen up the ‘rules’ and live a little. Striving for perfection isn’t realistic. As my wise mom used to say, “everything in moderation.”