consider this

I read a wonderful post by EPBOT today about Rage-Quitting [which I highly recommend for reading, especially if you've been having a crappy week, like a lot of us] that made me more fully consider a thought I had last night while watching Restaurant Impossible. I know, deep thoughts from a Food Network makeover show? Who would have thought?

Okay, so, confession. I watch Restaurant Impossible a lot. The tension, the denial, the designing, Robert Irvine's surprisingly competent counseling skills, the cathartic and dynamic journey in just an hour. Wonderful.

Having watched the show extensively, I've picked up on the patterns that generally surface over the course of an episode. One of these, is the pit of guilt and depression that a lot of the owner/chefs fall into right after Robert tells them that the [poor] quality of their food is a big part of why their restaurant is failing. They get stuck in a rut of "I suck and I have always sucked and I am always going to suck." I frequently find myself getting frustrated along with Robert who's asking them to snap out of it, put the past in the past, and just move forward.

This happens a lot. Last night it happened again, but this time it occurred to me how hypocritical my attitude was because how many of us can honestly say we've never had the above thought about ourselves at some point? I know I can't. I have that thought a lot and I'm not any better about getting out of that pit than those chefs are.

We're so good  at striping ourselves of our innate  power to grow and attain amazing things. EPBOT talks about Rage-Quitting when things get too tough or complicated but sometimes we  get so good at quitting that we quit before we start. We never even try to tackle that stack of laundry or dishes, that chapter, or that project because  think we already know how that'll end, so why start?

I think  this is why songs like "Let it Go"  connect to so many people. So many of us what to be that fearless, self-accepting person who throws off the expectations others  have of us and that we then create for ourselves.

We need to stop getting in our own ways. We need to start learning  from the past and stop choosing to live in it,  especially the parts we don't like. I for one, want to work on moving forward with energy and excitement, seizing the power  that I already hold to make tomorrow  what I want it to be. And stop getting in my own way.

Thank you, Food Network :)