We think hunger comes first, but in my experience, it comes after.
I’m not talking about food; I’m talking about LIFE. But food is life, and it’s all kind of the same. Our days are spent narrowing down the plethora of choices presented to us. How do we sift out what we truly want to eat, and the interests where we truly want to spend our time? It’s paralyzing just considering the options.
One has to start, and starting with breakfast is a good idea.
You set aside some eggs. You heat the pan. You watch the butter sizzle in the hot pan. You tilt the pan and encourage the butter to melt away to an even coating. Preparation feels like progress.
At this point your options are still plentiful. You can remove the pan from the heat. You can choose to do a workout first and eat your eggs later. You can decide to skip eggs and make a smoothie instead. How can you trust that you want to commit to eggs and not waffles, hash, or anything else on the menu? I’ve taken my pan off the stove many times, unable to decide what I am truly hungry for. What do I want out of this one and only life I have been given?
Now that the pan is off the heat, the previous preparations feel like a waste. Guilt sets in. More paralysis.
But once the egg is cracked, you are committed, at least to this one small meal. Each action is carrying you closer to eggs for breakfast and away from an alternative reality. Already, the possibility for hard-boiled and poached are off the table. Sunny side, over easy, scrambled, or an omelette. The options are narrowing.
That is how commitment works.
Choices are made to carry a process forward. Each choice brings you to the next choice, which is more specific, and more particular, until eventually everything simply moves to the next logical step. Momentum and hunger build.
This is how the act of cooking increases the appetite. Sometimes hunger doesn’t show up until you smell something wonderful in the air, until you can detect a small tangible result of effort already in motion.
We can’t always rely on hunger alone to drive us forward. Act when the pan is hot and keep going. Commit to the process. Something delicious will be waiting for you at the end.
