Daily Brief (Jan. 14, 2020)

Well, yesterday did not go as planned.  Or rather, I planned too much!

Cooking and cleaning took up much of the day.  The important thing is that dinner was ready and the kitchen was clean.  Working in the kitchen gave me time to think about what goes into any new undertaking and how cooking is such a great analogy for this.  Success is based greatly on learning, planning, and experimentation.

When we start out in the kitchen, the menu tends to be limited and we are restricted by our lack of understanding.  Chances are, we are a risk to ourselves and probably shouldn’t be left unattended!  But as we spend more time in the kitchen and grow to understand the tools and techniques, we gain confidence and begin to try new recipes.  To see “if that’s any good” and perhaps try multiple times using what we’ve learned to improve it to our taste.  Eventually, we either abandon the recipe and move on to the next; or we develop it into something to our liking.

For me, cooking success or failure is not a reflection on who I am or my worth as a person.  For others, how they perform in the kitchen is how they define themselves.  They feel devastated in their failure and embarrassed.

Isn’t that interesting?

I would never think less of someone because a vegetable was overcooked or they failed to use the correct seasoning.  If a souffle fell in the oven the world would not end!  If all else fails, there’s pizza!

Isn’t it interesting how we elevate the importance of some tasks and devalue others with regards to our image of self?

​With a few exceptions; does it really matter how we perform​ at​ ​most task​s​?  ​Certainly, one should place pride in their work but the outcome of that work should not be viewed as ​the soul​ reflection of their self worth.
​Perhaps a good exercise, when you feel the pressure to perform, is to give the task at hand the importance that you would place on something of less value to you.  ​Try to remove the power that the given task has over how you view yourself as a person.
Food for thought!

Big 3

  • Office Work (Accounting)
  • Studio Work (Garden Path)
  • Exercise (Push Exercises)

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