How the Burnt Toast Theory Can Improve Your Day
Lindsay Knake
| 3 min read
Lindsay Knake is a brand journalist for Blue Cross B...
Medically reviewed by Dr. Kristyn Gregory, D.O.
Think about a morning where you burned your toast or overcooked your eggs. Then, a car accident delays your commute to work. Once you get there, you spill your coffee and your email crashes.
You know what that feels like; these small annoyances can add up into a lingering bad mood that you might pass on to colleagues or family members. It doesn’t feel good. So, what do you do?
Here’s where the Burnt Toast Theory comes in.
What is Burnt Toast Theory?
The Burnt Toast Theory is about reframing these inconveniences and annoyances and seeing the silver linings that can come from them. Rather than letting each of these incidents rile us up, this theory helps us put them into perspective. When you practice the Burnt Toast Theory, you acknowledge and accept the feeling of frustration, annoyance or even anger, let it go and perhaps find some good.
Burnt toast is, after all, just a piece of bread. It can take only a few minutes to make another that you might enjoy even a little more, or perhaps it gives you a good excuse to grab breakfast at your favorite cafe. The delayed commute might give you the opportunity to finish the episode of your favorite podcast, and the crashed email allows you to talk to a colleague in person instead. While not every annoying incident comes with a positive outcome, optimism is connected to a longer lifespan, according to Harvard Health. Feeling optimistic can help us feel empowered to problem-solve and be proactive.
This theory isn’t about toxic positivity, which is to ignore and dismiss bad feelings, but rather practicing groundedness and perspective. Allowing these moments to build can eventually lead to chronic stress, which can cause weight gain, digestive problems, higher blood pressure, create anxiety and worsen diabetes.
How can the Burnt Toast Theory help you?
Self-compassion
Self-compassion is treating yourself with kindness rather than being hard on yourself or being intensely self-critical. Talking to yourself like you would talk to a friend can help you with acceptance, learning from a situation and moving forward in a productive way. Practicing self-compassion can lead to lower levels of anxiety and depression, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Mindfulness
When annoyances and inconveniences add up, we can get increasingly frustrated and even catastrophize. That can lead us to make mistakes. But taking a few moments to acknowledge emotions and breathing can return us to the present moment. Mindfulness has long been associated with lower stress levels and overall physical and mental well-being.
You can practice mindfulness through:
Psychological resilience
Psychological resilience is the ability to cope with stressful situations and adapt to challenges, according to the American Psychological Association. This means managing both the situation and emotions that arise because of it.
Mental strength is associated with higher life satisfaction and lower risk of future mental health problems, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The Burnt Toast Theory is a way of managing the small, daily stressors. This isn’t meant for anxiety, depression or trauma. For more significant mental health help, talk to your primary care provider.
Image: Getty Images
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