Mise en place

Happy weekend! I love to cook. Though I am not a professional by any means, cooking is something I am good at and really enjoy. I dunno, something about the combining of ingredients and creating something that makes you feel good does wonders for the soul.

Anyway..what is this "Mise en place" caper, I hear you ask? Well, roughly translated, it means "everything in its place"..."ducks in a row" if that works better for you. Its basic common sense in a kitchen: have all your ingredients organised, measured, ready to go in advance. Why? Because, if you don't it is much easier to mess things up - and not get the result you were aiming for.

So what has this got to do with mental health? If you think about it, good mental health largely comes down to the small habits (ingredients) you have in place for you day, your week, your...life, n'est pas? Simply put (don't ever say that to a shot-putter), the positive habits you have in place for the foundation to a happier, healthier, less hurtier life: journalling, gratitude, affirmation, exercise, support, a positive mental attitude, persistence (for when you stuff up, and we all do - it's part of being human).

Many times, when we are under pressure, or distracted because of overwhelm, we start to mess with the recipe...we come home late and skip healthy meals because we are tired; we get lazy and "forget" to journal or affirm; we get cynical and think what is this gratitude thing, it doesn't work (you have to give it time and it works little by little, IF you put feeling behind it); the daily work/gym sesh becomes less frequent because we "don't have time" (funny that, since we all get the same allocation...maybe my math sucks); our PMA become a NMA and we snarl and gnash our teeth more; and persistence...we try insistence, like a nagging mother-in-law...you get the drill.

Set your ingredients in place before the storm. Good habits set you up for success. Big things come from little things, so start with one, master it and make it stick them move on to the next. And go easy on yourself if you are finding things hard...they say, don't judge a person before you walk a mile in their moccasins. A little unsanitary, I have to say, but useful if said mocassinee is the aggressive type: hey you are a mile up the road already and you have his moccasins! Be gentle on yourself, realise you will make mistakes (congrats - you are not a robot!!), just reset and go back to basics and you'll get it. Now get cooking!