I. Love. McDonalds French Fries.
I’m talking: I am a connoisseur (I won’t lie, I had to look up how to spell that word) of french fries. For example, Burger King fries are too “potato-y”, Wendy’s are better now that they do the sea salt thing. Chick-Fil-A waffle fries are okay but are kind of in their own special category and any restaurant that does seasoned/curly fries (ie. Arby’s, Checkers, Rallys, etc.) needs to be judged separately.
But McDonalds are my favorite. I don’t care how fattening they are, what kind of oil they’re fried in, there’s just something about them that makes me happy when I eat them.
I wonder if they make me happy because I’ve found the fries I like (and I’m happy because I’ve determined that THOSE are the fries that are my favorite) or if I just like the fries (and…is that okay? can I like those better than the other ones?)
There’s some strange fear we have about determining things that are important to us, or the things we like. I’m not sure why it is, but I have some theories.
1) If I choose something I can’t choose something else. That’s right friends. When you determine that something is important, you have to accept that something else is less important. It’s a trade off. You’ll have to determine for yourself if the benefits outweigh the sacrifices.
2) What if I learn new information or decide I don’t like what I’ve chosen. Wow, this victimization mentality is pervasive in our culture. We have this belief that things are done to us, that circumstances have violated us or robbed us of our freedom. Listen up (me included): commitment isn’t the root of all evil. In fact, great things require it. Here’s what you’re really saying: I’m scared of what I don’t know and I’d rather avoid something that COULD happen rather than maximize what IS happening. You’re trading a good future for a nondescript now.
3) I don’t know what I want. Join the club. We’re so information drenched and feel so entitled to have information easily accessible (seriously, who can’t just “ask Siri” nowadays) that we’ve moved from inside our heads to determine truth (like our postmodern friends told us to) to highly externalized loci of control. We want to know what they chose and why they chose it. We’ve taken on a huge burden to be experts at everything and that’s just not the case. Some things you have to jump in to to determine if they’re right for you.
4) Things aren’t that bad, I’ll get around to it. No you won’t. Because it clearly isn’t important to you to do this. When it is, you’ll do it. This issue isn’t timing, it’s motivation.
This is a hugely valuable practice my friends. Define the things that are important to you, then live the life with the people that reflect it. It’s not hard, so why is it?
