Don't Forget to Turn on the Heat

I stood there in front of the stove, spoon in one hand, tongs in the other.

Flipping the pork chops and stirring the rice at the same time.

And thinking to myself, "Why is it taking so long for this water to boil?"

I realized pretty quickly what the problem was when I glanced down at the dials.

The burner wasn't on.

Not even a little bit.

I could have kept stirring that rice until eternity and that water would never have boiled.

There wasn't any heat to get the job done.

There was one other time where I prepped our entire dinner, put it in the crockpot, went to work, and when I came home it hadn't cooked at all.

Because I forgot to plug it in!

Again, no heat. No results.

The impact of forgetting to turn on the heat is pretty apparent when it comes to cooking.

But in other areas of our lives, it can be harder to see.

Because it happens over time, almost in slow motion.

We take a day off from our workout routine. Or two, or three, or a week...

We decide to sleep in one morning, instead of getting up to read or enjoy the sunrise.

And that one morning turns into a month, or a year.

We decide not to go on vacation because it would cost too much. And then we spend that money on takeout over the course of the year.

We do these things because it's comfortable. And human beings crave comfort.

Which is all well and good.

But...

We forget the impact the memories from that vacation could have had on our lives. And the lives of our family and friends who went with us.

The workouts and sunrises we missed were opportunities to improve our quality of life.

We forget just how good it can be to get out of our comfort zone.

We forget to turn on the heat.

Some of the best things happen when we light a fire in our lives.

Start on simmer if you have to, but at least turn the dial.

Watch how quickly you see results.

Once I turned that burner on, it didn't take long for the water to boil. Dinner was on the table shortly after.

Now I check the dials every time I put dinner on the stove.

And when I wake up each morning.

Don't forget to turn on the heat.

It makes all the difference.

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