A Good Life Is Like a Good Meal...You Must Make It So

"He who regards the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap." - Ecclesiastes 11:4 AMP

Outside of sports or movies I don't watch much television. Very few programs spark my interest. There is one exception, however: The Food Network. (Hey, I'm a guy! I like food...it's only natural, right?)

I like the format of the shows, especially the competitive ones. As a sports fan I can appreciate the nature of the contests. My favorite show is a program called Chopped. The theme is very simple:

Four chefs...
Three rounds...
One champion...

...and they all have to create a delicious three course meal from the mystery ingredients hidden in their food baskets. Each dish is judged on creativity, presentation, and taste.

The challenge of the show is that you never know what you're going to see in the basket (like Forrest Gump's "box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get.."): 

You may see something that makes no sense at all...

You may see something you never thought could be part of any meal (appetizer, entree, or dessert), or worst of all...

You may be asked to use an ingredient you've never seen before in your life! (I call it the "What the..?" moment)

You may not like what you see, you may wish you had something else (or something easier to cook), but none of that matters. You must use the items you've been given and create a dish from them. And you don't have much time to do it: 20 minutes to create an appetizer, 30 minutes each for the entree and dessert.

The theme of the show is very simple: take the situation in front of you, do the best you can with it, and in the small amount of time you have create the best possible outcome.

What a great lesson we can all learn from this show to apply to our own lives, but sadly very few people do. Why? I believe there are two reasons:

We believe others are responsible for changing our situation for us, or...

We believe situations should just work themselves out on their own.

When neither of these things happen we get upset, we yell, we cry, we whine about how "unfair" life is. Then we sit in a corner, suck our thumb and wail "Woe is me," or "Nobody knows the trouble I seen," 'til the cows come home.

I got two words for you Bucky...  

Boo Hoo...!!! (You want some cheese to go with that whine..???)

Face it, most times we caused the trouble ourselves. It's our own fault. More than anyone or anything, we created our own problems. Our biggest challenge is what we see in the mirror. We just won't admit it.

But as long as we believe others "should" fix our situation for us, solve our problems, as long as we expect others to drop whatever they're doing and come running to save us from ourselves, nothing will change. 

Things will stay broken, and so will we, always needing repair, and we'll have no one to blame but ourselves. To think otherwise means only one person is being fooled...guess who?

Larry Winget, author of "You're Broke Because You Want to Be," has the best response for this mindset:

"Stop being a victim! No one else is to blame for your situation. Your life is a reflection of the choices you have made. If you want a better life, then make better choices. When you do, you'll find that taking credit for your successes feels a lot better than blaming others for your failures." - from "Victimhood: A Privilege You Can No Longer Afford," pages 3,4

Everybody gets confronted by circumstances they'd rather not deal with in life. That's the fact, Jack. Everybody has a "What the...?" moment. That's a fact, too.  Into every life a little rain must fall, so the saying goes. But everybody handles these moments differently. That's why some move ahead while others fall behind.

Knowing all this, the choice is yours. Handle the situation or the situation handles you. Your call. Lemons in your life can't become lemonade until your attitude gets sweeter than the situation you face. 

Comprende?

So take a tip from the chefs on Chopped. No matter how strange the mystery "ingredients" are that found their way into your basket, you can still create a dish that suits you best. 

Bon apetit!

That's all for now, gotta run.  Until next time...

Keep it simple...See ya!