90% Preparation
Part of being human is we are always happier and energized when we are in pursuit of something. The pursuit can be more interesting and invigorating than the result.
Cooking is one of my passions. I started cooking when I was 9 years old. Dinner, that evening, didn’t turn out very well, but it was the beginning of my journey into creating delicious food.
Along the way, I learned that preparation is about 90% of what’s involved in turning out a great meal. Choosing a menu, shopping, and the actual preparation of the food prior to cooking is about 90% of the process. Cooking and enjoying and eating it, the other 10%.
If it’s all about the finished dish, I could order out or go to a restaurant. But, it’s more than that. It’s about the accomplishment, the joy of learning about different food, and how to create pleasing things to eat, as well as the positive response from those eating what I’ve prepared.
We are always happier and energized when we are in pursuit of something. This quest can be more interesting and satisfying than the result. Oh, we do love the result. After all, it’s what we are chasing, but the process is what we are caught up in. The process makes it all happen.
When we focus — when the mind and emotions and actions are all involved in bringing something about, we are at our best. Small problems fall away and seem to take care of themselves. We don’t have the time to notice or enlarge the little, inconsequential annoyances and mishaps that come and go. We’ve more important fish to fry, places to go and things to do. We are in a process, we have a deadline, we’re focused and on track.
What makes days different and special is what we decide to do with them.
Days come and go. Each pretty much the same as the one before. What makes days different and special is what we decide to do with them. We can be a spectator, an onlooker, a witness, or we can be a participant, a player, and a contributor. The interesting thing is it takes both. Games, concerts, and other events have both players and spectators.
Whatever role we choose to play, we need to be in a state of preparation — energized and excited — filled with positive emotions that come from preparation. Preparation is after all the journey; what it takes to get somewhere.
Kids always ask “are we there yet.” We need to teach them about the wonder of the journey, and help make it interesting for them. When you travel regularly, you find the journey is where most of the action is —
