When the back burner becomes the front burner! During my childhood we had a wooden stove with several “eyes” that you could open. With this new generation most people probably don’t know what I’m talking about. Well let me try to describe. First of all, the stove had a side door where you put the wood and poured the kerosene to get the fire going, and then you closed the door. The top of the stove had two or three openings that were cut out in a way that the cut piece was fitted securely when put in place. These cutouts were called the “eyes”, which is similar to what we call burners today, and were used as a guide for sitting your cooking pots. Also, you could open the eyes and stoke the fire if it died down. For some reason the fire always burned hotter near the front, therefore if something was cooking too fast my mom would put it on the back burner to cook a little slower or to stay warm. I firmly believe that this is where the statement, “on the back burner” originated from.
How many times have you used that statement to describe the action that you are taking because you do not wish to deal with something right now? Maybe the conversation is not your cup of tea, so you set it aside with hopes of it cooling down or being forgotten all together. When we want to put things off until tomorrow, we almost intuitively say, “I’ll put that on the back burner.” Well what happens when the back burner becomes the front burner? When you have pushed things away so many times that they start to recycle themselves. What happens then? You deal with it, because what used to be a low priority has suddenly rose to the top. I’ve learned that when you have a list of accomplishments to meet, it is better to do the hardest or least exciting thing first, because doing that will create an adrenaline rush to power you for the next task. It’s like getting it off your chest, or meeting the deadline, or saving the day. It gives you energy for the journey!