Inspiration In Unexpected Places

You never know where you might find just the right idea or inspiration to give you the spark you need.

I’m in a sort of “holding pattern” right now as my husband and I wait patiently (not!) for the purchase of our new home to close escrow. So, while Jeff is living and working in Las Vegas, Nevada, I’m living in Tehachapi, California, with our two Siberian Huskies, Trip & Ezri, and Robbie, our black-headed caique.

Life in a small mountain town is very different from the frenzied pace of Southern California, where I’ve spent my whole life.

Folks up here never get in a rush, nor do they try to see how many errands and activities they can cram into each day. They take pleasure in simple things, like enjoying meals together and catching their favorite shows on TV.

The good people I’m staying with absolutely LOVE game shows. Maybe it’s the attraction of winning money and “fabulous prizes,” or maybe it’s the exhilaration of knowing the correct answer. Either way, they’re hopelessly hooked and I do admit to finding a certain appeal to game shows myself.

But what surprised me even more than learning how excited I can get over beating the buzzer or solving a prize puzzle was hearing the sane, doable perspective I’ve been searching for regarding New Year’s Resolutions…and it came from the world’s most famous letter-turner, Vanna White!

Now, I’m sure many of you are probably thinking I have little in common with Miss White. After all, I’m more of a ponytailed, T-shirt/jeans and boot-wearing kinda gal rather than a neatly coiffed, ballgowned and stilettoed glamor queen. (For the record, I have been told that I “clean up” well. But I digress.)

Anyway, during the first “Wheel of Fortune” show of the year, host Pat Sajak asked Vanna about her New Year’s Resolutions. Vanna flashed that dazzling smile of hers and said, very simply, that she only had one resolution this year: Cook one new dish per week. Not learn the cooking style of an exotic foreign culture. Not master a category, such as sauces or breads or desserts. Not even cook one new meal.

Cook one new dish. Per week. Period.

I like that.

How often do we set ourselves up for failure by setting our sights too high? Why do we expect great and grand things right off the bat when we lack a solid foundation or haven’t yet “built up any muscle?”

We’ve turned into a culture of over-achievers.

The problem with that is this: What we used to call “over” achieving has now become the norm. And once we start expecting more and MORE from ourselves and others, we quickly reach the point where it’s not just unrealistic, it’s UN-achievable.

We would never expect a toddler to run before she could stand up on her own power and not fall over, right? So what do you say we start applying the same understanding and kindness to ourselves?

I, for one, am ready to follow Vanna’s lead and start taking “baby steps” toward one small and doable goal. Something simple and delightful and good. Something like cooking one new dish per week. (Berry cobbler, anyone?) 😀

What’s one new simple resolution you could make this year?

I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!