Let’s get real for a minute. Most of us walk around with this operating system that says, “My life is what happens to me.” We’ve been trained to believe that the ultimate explanation for why things are the way they are can be found in a neat little list of circumstances: where we were born, the family we grew up in, that time our boss was a jerk, the cosmic joke of our first relationship.
We point to these events like a lawyer pointing to evidence in a courtroom. “Case closed,” we say. “My life is a product of these undeniable facts.”
And yet, if you’ve been paying attention—I mean, really paying attention—you’ve noticed something absolutely wild. Two people can be handed nearly identical circumstances and end up living in two entirely different universes.
One person gets laid off and decides it’s proof that they’re a professional failure, destined to forever be an underachiever. The other person gets laid off, calls it a cosmic nudge, and uses the sudden free time to launch the passion project they’ve been dreaming about for years. Same layoff. Same circumstance. Two completely different realities.
What gives?
It’s not the event. It’s the reaction.
That’s why I’m here to make a bold claim, one that might sound a little ridiculous but contains the entire secret to conscious creation: Life is only 10% circumstance and a staggering 90% reaction.
The Grand Illusion of “Stuff That Happens”
Circumstances feel so powerful, don’t they? They show up like a brick wall and convince us that our path is now officially blocked. You lose your job, and suddenly, that feels like the end of all security. A relationship ends, and it feels like your entire future has been stolen, carefully plucked from your hands by an uncaring universe. An unexpected bill shows up, and it’s instant, undeniable proof that you will never, ever get ahead.
These are facts, but they’re not verdicts. We’re the ones who give them the power of a verdict.
Think about something truly mundane: the rain. Two people are standing under the same grey sky, feeling the same little drops on their skin. One person curses the heavens, shivers, and declares the day an absolute wash. The other person twirls, laughs, and lets the water soak them with an unexpected jolt of joy.
Same rain. Same sky. Same circumstance. Two entirely different lives unfolding in that very moment.
When you start to see this, the game shifts. The circumstance itself isn’t in charge. You are.
Your Reaction Is a Reality-Selection Tool
If you’re on a conscious creation path, this idea should land like a thunderbolt. Your reaction isn’t just an emotional flinch or a temporary mood swing. It’s a frequency.
Every thought you think, every emotion you feel, and every assumption you make is an energetic vote for the reality you’re stepping into.
- When you respond with fear, lack, or defeat, you’re essentially tuning yourself to a radio station where those outcomes are playing on a loop. You’re telling the universe, “Yes, please, more of this.”
- When you respond with curiosity, openness, or even a wry sense of humour, you shift the signal. You’re telling the universe, “I’m open for a different kind of song.”
The circumstance is the radio sitting there, powered off. Your reaction is the tuning dial. The channel you choose determines the music you live in.
That’s the 90%. That’s where the real magic happens.
The Art of the Sacred Pause
So, if it’s that simple, why do we mess it up so often? Because most of us have collapsed the space between circumstance and reaction. Something happens, and poof—we’re already spiralling. Our old programming takes over before we’ve even had a chance to notice. It’s like a reflex, an emotional knee-jerk.
But here’s the secret, the thing that changes everything: there’s always a pause. Even if it’s just a sliver of a second.
And in that impossibly small pause lives your entire sovereignty.
Viktor Frankl, a man who survived unthinkable horrors, said it best: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
That pause is the moment you stop being a victim of circumstance and step into the role of conscious creator. It’s where you get to decide: Will I react from the old identity—the one that believes I’m a victim, a loser, a failure—or will I respond from the self I’m becoming?
A Tale of Two Reactions (and the Crickets)
Let’s imagine you’ve just poured your heart and soul into a creative project—a new product, a piece of art, a blog post (ahem)—and it falls flat. Crickets. It’s the sound of silence.
- Circumstance (the 10%): Your launch didn’t get the results you wanted.
- Possible Reaction #1 (the 90%): You curl up in a ball and say, “I must not be cut out for this. I’ll never figure it out. This is proof I’m a fraud.” That story contracts you. It makes you less likely to try again and reinforces a reality of stagnation. You’ve just used your paintbrush to create an image of defeat.
- Possible Reaction #2 (the 90%): You sit back, take a deep breath, and say, “Interesting. That didn’t land the way I thought. Something even better must be aligning, and this gave me clarity on what to shift next. It’s not a failure; it’s a data point.” That story expands you. It keeps you moving and aligns you with growth. You’ve just used your paintbrush to create an image of potential.
Same 10%. Entirely different futures unfolding.
The Pesky Automation of the 90%
If the reaction matters more than the circumstance, then why is it so hard to choose the right one?
Because our reactions are often automated. They’re tied to old wounds, ingrained beliefs, and cultural programming we’ve absorbed since we were kids.
- If you grew up hearing, “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” guess what your knee-jerk reaction will be when money gets tight? Panic.
- If you were told you were “too much” or “not enough,” your reaction to rejection will be laced with those old echoes. Shame.
The beautiful part is you can rewire it. Every single conscious response you choose rewrites the pattern. Each time you pause, breathe, and choose a different story, you’re teaching your nervous system and your subconscious a new script. You’re showing them, “Hey, we don’t do that anymore.”
This is the very essence of conscious creation. You’re not just coping with the moment; you’re literally sculpting what comes next. You’re stepping into a timeline where the universe responds to the new frequency you just embodied. As Neville Goddard taught, your assumptions harden into fact. The way you respond is a declaration of your assumption. And your assumption is what reality mirrors back.
The Divine Messiness of the 10%
Here’s a radical way to view this: every single triggering circumstance is actually a gift.
When something stirs up anger, fear, or despair, it’s not happening to you. It’s revealing for you where old programming still lives. It’s showing you exactly where the 90% needs your loving attention.
Instead of fighting the trigger, you can meet it with curiosity, like a scientist. “What is this revealing? What story am I still carrying? What reaction would align me with the version of me I’m becoming?”
In this way, life is constantly training you in mastery. Every difficult 10% is a portal into a stronger, clearer, more intentional 90%.
Your Ripple Effect
And here’s the bigger, more collective picture: your reactions don’t just build your personal reality. They ripple outward.
You know this. You’ve walked into a room where someone is spiralling with panic, and you feel it before they even speak. You’ve also walked into a space where someone is grounded and radiant, and you feel that, too. Their energy affects your energy.
Choosing your response isn’t just an act of self-creation; it’s an offering to the wider world. It’s an energetic vote for the reality we all get to live in.
When the 10% Feels Like Everything
Let’s be honest. Sometimes the 10% feels so overwhelming that it seems to swallow the whole equation. Illness. Loss. Betrayal. Situations that cut so deep they leave you breathless.
In those moments, it’s tempting to say, “Screw the 90%. This circumstance has already decided everything.”
But even in the heaviest, most gut-wrenching times, the principle still holds. You may not be able to change the event, but you can still choose the story you carry forward. You can choose how you hold yourself, what you decide about life, and how you allow the moment to shape you.
Sometimes the “correct” reaction isn’t about bouncing into joy or empowerment right away. Sometimes the powerful reaction is choosing gentleness. Choosing to breathe. Choosing to let yourself feel, without collapsing into despair. That, too, is a refusal to let the 10% claim an authority it doesn’t deserve. It’s a quiet, fierce act of sovereignty.
The 90% Muscle
Think of reactions as muscles. If you’ve been lifting the weight of fear and lack your whole life, of course that muscle feels strong. Of course, the reaction feels automatic.
But like any muscle, you can train a new one.
At first, the pause feels clunky. You remember to breathe after you’ve already lashed out. You notice the spiral halfway down. That’s okay. Every single rep counts. Every time you stop mid-reaction and ask, “What’s another story I could choose?” you’re building new strength.
Over time, the new muscle grows. The pause gets longer. The stories you tell yourself get kinder. The reactions shift naturally toward the reality you actually want to live in. And one day, you’ll find yourself laughing in the rain where you once would have cursed the sky.
Daily Life in the 90/10 Mindset
Living this way turns ordinary moments into conscious creation.
- Traffic jam? The 10% is cars not moving. The 90% could be rage and impatience—or it could be gratitude for a chance to listen to that new podcast, or simply to be still.
- Spilled coffee on your shirt before a meeting? The 10% is a stain. The 90% could be embarrassment and self-consciousness—or it could be a self-deprecating comment that lightens the energy of the whole room.
- Unexpected bill in the mail? The 10% is the number on the page. The 90% could be scarcity and panic—or trust that money flows in cycles and this is simply part of the dance.
It’s never about denying the reality of the circumstance. It’s about reclaiming your authority over how that reality unfolds.
The Courage to Keep Choosing
Here’s the liberating truth: you won’t always nail the 90%. You’ll spiral sometimes. You’ll react in ways that don’t align with the creator you know yourself to be. And that’s okay. Conscious creation isn’t about perfection—it’s about practice.
Every new moment gives you another chance. Every fresh circumstance is a new invitation. You never, ever run out of opportunities to choose again.
That’s the beauty of it: life keeps offering you the paintbrush. All you have to do is pick it up.
The Final Equation
Life is not determined by the 10% that happens. It’s determined by the 90% you create in response.
Circumstances will rise and fall. Opportunities will come and go. People will stay or leave. But in the end, it’s your reactions—your choices, your stories, your energy—that truly shape the reality you inhabit.
The circumstance is the stage, but your response is the script. The circumstance is the canvas, but your response is the art.
So, the next time life hands you the unexpected, pause. Take a breath. Remember the equation.
And then ask yourself: What reality am I about to paint with my reaction?
