Sandwiches and Free Will

I made a sandwich for breakfast on a Tuesday morning.

It's really not that big of a deal on the surface. People eat all manner of things in the morning all over the world. For me, this was a major breakthrough in exercising my free will.

How it started

I tend to be pretty regimented and I don't typically stray from the norm. With breakfast, that means sticking to the classics: eggs, yogurt with granola, maybe some shrimp and grits if I have the time or I'm at brunch, and don't forget the almighty cup of coffee. My mom is the complete opposite. If she is craving something, she's going to enjoy it, time of day be damned.

Thanks to an unexpected day off, I got to watch my mom make a delicious sandwich at 8:30 A.M., chips and all. I was going to reach for my pan to make my usual eggs, but something clicked: I really wanted a sandwich (what can I say, the lady knows how to make food look good). In expressing this to my Mom, she just shrugged and said "Then make a sandwich. I never eat breakfast food."

So, I made the damn sandwich, and it was as delicious as I imagined it to be. I still had my morning coffee, though. I'm not a monster.

Literally the best sandwich I have ever made (My Mom's sandwiches are still better though).

This has little to do with a sandwich and everything to do with how we pigeonhole ourselves into baseless habits and call it a "routine." We are often conditioned to do things in a certain order in a certain way because it's "normal." But sometimes, normalcy can cost us a fabulous experience that passes us by all because it wasn't on the schedule.

As I ate my morning sandwich, it clicked: some of our greatest joys exist outside of our routines. By shaking things up, we shake loose the possibility of enjoying life with greater intensity. Today, it may be a sandwich in the morning. Tomorrow, it may mean taking a different route home or stepping into that little boutique you were curious about and discovering a find that lights you up. It may mean pulling the trigger on taking that dance class or signing up for that certification to change your career. In any case, taking control of your free will, stepping outside of the ordinary, and doing something a little bit different is the first step in becoming your more authentic self.

For me, it was eating a fully-loaded ham and provolone sandwich on a Tuesday morning. Tomorrow... perhaps world domination?

We'll get there when we get there :-)