Burnt Toast Theory
If you are prone to spiraling, read this. One of the best pieces of advice my sister has given me this year (and she has taught me the most) is the Burnt Toast Theory. The idea is that if you burn your toast in the morning, it means you might be slightly later for the rest of the day. Now, as a chronic spiraler, usually if I burned my toast (or something similar), the next few moments or hours would consist of me doing a plethora of other silly things, getting flustered, resulting in me being a bit behind the eight ball all day.
However, the theory goes that maybe the toast got burnt to hold you back from leaving the house on time, maybe you weren’t supposed to be on the road at a certain time, or maybe the universe needed you to pause and reset for a second for some master plan that is bigger than you. Maybe something bad might have happened if you hadn’t burnt the toast. I don’t mean to sound too woo-woo, but this simple idea of reframing an incident as something that might be working FOR you rather than against you has helped me reset and move on with more ease and grace throughout my day.
I am working on being more intentional in my days rather than just reactionary, so anything I can do to reframe my mindset instantly when things inevitably go wrong—like getting a bad email, being stuck in roadworks, or missing out on a purchase I wanted to make—perhaps all of this is happening for a good reason, protecting you, or helping you.
For some, this might be a bit of a jump, but for those of you who need a quick fix in the moment, you can thank my amazing sis!
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