Happy New

As we begin another New Year, and the confetti shakes out and the resolutions begin to fade, I begin to think about the glorious nature of starting afresh every year. For some reason, perhaps socially induced, we feel the need to periodically start over, sometimes in a grand way, sometimes more gradual. Statistically, the more creative and independent a personality you have, the more you crave change. Change may not always be in our best interest, but for some reason we perceive it as an essential component in moving towards our happiness, making ourselves and our lives better. What most people don't realize (or refuse to see) is that most things we wish to change are results; the results of bad behavior, the results of our habits. Habits are difficult to change because we have ingrained them into our being; we do them without thinking. So if you really want that change in your life that you presume will make you happier, you need to reprogram the behavioral patterns that give you the results you don't like seeing. No one has more particular passion for breaking bad habits and starting people down a happier path than a Chef.

I’ll never forget one of my new beginnings; I found myself being brought in to revamp a four star seafood restaurant. Food cost was running high, turnover too. I spent the first few weeks there learning all the stations, menu items and prep lists. I kept my new position of executive sous chef a secret as I acclimated to the kitchen culture, presuming I would be treated differently as a boss rather than a new coworker. I also didn't let on I spoke fluent Spanish as I acclimated to the predominantly Spanish-speaking kitchen staff.

Then came the day when Chef introduced me to the crew as the new executive sous chef, there to make some changes and get the kitchen back in shape.

    One of my first resolutions was to straighten up the prep kitchen. There was a bit of waste there that was stemming from a disorganized walk-in cooler. So, I pulled my prep cooks aside and laid out my plan.

“Ok guys, here's what I want to do today.” I started. “ Let’s take everything out of the walk in, pull out the shelves, deep clean the whole cooler, walls and floors, with bleach, shelves too, and then we'll put everything back after we organize the food. Got it?” I thought my request was pretty straight forward. I expected action.

“No sabe.” Was what I got in return. (No sabe is Spanish for ‘don't know’ presumably implying I don't know what you're saying but if taken literally implies someone doesn't have a clue (me)).

“Oh…. no sabe? You don't know what I'm saying? Well what should we do?”

He nodded vacantly, doubling down on his lack of initiative.

“OH! I got it!” I exclaimed.  His face lit up even though he (presumably) had no idea what I was saying and I (presumably) had no way of relaying my thoughts to him accurately.

“Toma todos los cosas e pone aqui en esta mesa e limpia los paredes e piso con aqua caliente e chloro…” I continued on with my now apparent command of Spanish. And as I finished the newly translated instruction I could tell by their faces, they were a little astonished.

“You f*#!ing sabe?” I closed.

“Yes.”

And with that they went to work.

Change happens over time and instantaneously. You can choose to make those choices yourself, and it is easiest when you self-direct those changes to your own habits and own the results.  But change can also be inflicted upon you from an external source, especially when your habits’ consequences violate acceptable norms. Needless to say, change happens as a result of changed behaviors resulting in different outcomes. Sustainable change happens when changed habits become the new norm. Although finishing a book happens on the last page, it required many turned pages from start to finish. But you will never get to that last page, nor understand the story, unless you pick it up and begin.