One of my favorite children’s books is an adorable tale entitled If you Give a Pig a Pancake. The story begins, “If you give a pig a pancake… she’ll want some syrup to go with it.” Then the fun really begins. The pancake inspires the little pig to attempt a slew of messy projects and tasks. In the end, the house is a disaster, and the pig is hungry for pancakes (with syrup) once again.

Who would have thought that a pancake could lead to so much destruction? In many ways, we can relate to the clever tale of the pig and the pancake. Perhaps the real life version of this story would be titled, If you Give a Person a Pepperoni Pizza, and go something like, “If you give a person a pepperoni pizza… they’ll want a large soda to go with it.” The story would tell the sad tale of someone who had decided to adopt a healthy lifestyle, succumbed to a temptation, and subsequently gave up. The feeling of defeat would propel this individual down a path of poor decisions. Sadly, several weeks could lead to months or years of poor choices, resulting in compromised health issues and feelings of guilt or regret. Perhaps eventually this individual would resolve to get back on track and begin again.

The majority of our daily decisions are made out of habit. Like a boulder tumbles down a mountainside gaining speed, (for good or bad) our decisions also gain momentum. If not corrected quickly, one poor choice often leads to another (and then another). Unfortunately, the poor decisions rapidly gain momentum and propel us down a path of self-destruction and hopelessness. Sir Isaac Newton, the physicist, called this momentum inertia- the greater the mass of an object (the bigger the habit), the stronger the force needed to stop it in its course. This is why, after making a habit of poor health decisions, it can take a tremendous amount of determination to conquer our internal resistance and change course.

Self-mastery is all about momentum. Like the pig and the pancake, caught up in a process of hilarious decisions, we can be swept up into a cascade of positive choices.

  • Start each day with an attitude of gratitude.
  • Make your bed! It’s amazing how something so simple can improve your mood. Just think- after those long, hard days there will be a nice, neat bed to curl up in.
  • Fuel up with a balanced breakfast!
  • Negative thoughts and influences can ruin your day. Choose wisely what you allow to fill your mind in the morning.

In honor of the life lessons learned from the lovable tale, If you Give a Pig a Pancake, it’s only right that this week’s recipe would be just as sweet. Just in time for National Grandparent’s Day this Sunday (September 13th) Cinnamon Roll Pancakes are an amazing, healthy rendition of everyone’s favorite breakfast foods. Enjoy!