Last night, I was doing a no-no: lying in bed, looking at my personal email account. Even though the light from the screen makes it harder for you to fall asleep, I was wide awake with excitement. I had just pulled out my new planner accessories from the mailbox a few minutes earlier, I wanted to find some ideas on how to make the best of them. (I know, you are either laughing at me or wanting to know what they look like.)
But as internet browsing goes, I got sidetracked. There was an email in my inbox whose subject line read, “The prettiest holiday fudge you’ll ever make.”
HELLO!
Now that sounded like fun!
I opened the email and saw this picture ——> (if you click on the photo, it will take you to the recipe).
OH MY!
I had to click on that article. Fudge? Beautiful fudge? Sign me up! It is Christmas time after all. Who doesn’t need fudge?
So when I got to the article, it promised 10 beautiful white chocolate fudge recipes.
Sigh.
I hate white chocolate.
But still, I clicked through each one of the 10 gorgeous white chocolate fudge recipes. And I agreed. They were beautiful to behold.
So beautiful, that I actually wanted to make one. Or two. Or maybe even three of them. (Red velvet fudge? Yes, please!)
As I laid in bed, suddenly craving chocolate and debating which recipe I just needed to test, I thought, “Tammy, you don’t like white chocolate. Why are you going to make one of these recipes? Just so you can take a picture of it? Just to prove that you can make really beautiful fudge? Because you’re wide awake late at night and you ran across this and now you can’t live without it?”
And that’s when the lesson hit me: I don’t have to betray myself (or my taste buds) just because of a whim. I don’t need to make it just because everyone else is commenting about how lovely and easy it is to make.
Even if it would be tasty for most people and easy and freaking photogenic fudge, making it doesn’t benefit me in the slightest. So why do it?
How often in your life do you find yourself tempted to do something that seems really appealing, yet you know just doesn’t fit for you?
Dr. Phil says to do this…
Oprah recommended this book…
Good Morning America said to avoid…
Your neighbor raved about this restaurant…
Your counselor said you needed to do it this way…
The secret to living to a happy life, without extra stresses or guilt, is to be true to yourself. Doing things that don’t fit for you just because everyone else said to do it WILL NOT take you towards your dream or your needs.
Getting clear on your personal cheat sheet for success (aka “boundaries) will lead you towards the life you have envisioned for yourself.
So if you’ve always had poor service at the restaurant your neighbors love, then don’t force yourself to go again just because they love it. You’ll more than likely leave frustrated and mad at yourself for going.
If you make the world’s best brownies, don’t put the store bought brownies on your plate at the office potluck dinner. Waste of calories. You won’t like it anyway.
The next time you’re tempted to do something that goes against what you know about yourself, take a moment to think about the reasons why you’re tempted to do it. Will it take you closer towards the goal you had in mind? Or will it just make you feel agitated and guilty for not listening to yourself in the first place?
And now that I have your curiosity up about those fudge recipes, here you go!
