Eat your veggies first

Remember when mom would serve you something you didn't like but had a dessert ready that you did like, but the stipulation to get to what you wanted involved eating something you didn't aka kidney beans?  (YUCK!!!!)  I finally got to the point where I would realize that if I ate the really yucky things first, I could work up to things I really liked and by the end of the meal, I didn't remember eating the yucky things at all. 

This philosophy has taken me far in life.  I remember using the same principle when I was learning a piano piece that I hated, and the more I had to practice it, the more I hated it (Grieg's Anitra's Dance - I still dislike it so much that I couldn't even bring myself to incorporate a link to a youtube video or anything - if you are curious go find it yourself).  Finally I did my technique to warm up and practiced the stupid piece until I could pass it off and swore it off since. 

Sure this could tie in to all kinds of philosophical ideas and ways to live life - and it does, but that's not really the point of this post. 

You see, every year at Easter, I splurge on myself and buy my favorite Easter candy - Starburst Jellybeans. 

I love these things.  I'm not usually a jellybean person, but these are the exception. 

Okay, you may be asking - what is the point of this post then? 

You see, when I take a handful of these happy little bits of sugar, I'm delighted with all of them. 

Except the yellow. 

I've never been a fan of anything lemon flavored - cakes maybe if done right, but that's it.  Before I remembered to put my veggies first to the test, I would end up with a handful of yellows that I had to eat begrudgingly.  But now, I eat all the yellow first.  Two or three at a time even, just to get through them and enjoy the rest.  Then oranges - they're okay, followed by red and purple depending on my mood.  Pink and green are always last, one at a time, chewed very slowly. 

And that is how to create a handful of happiness :)