Chips With a Side of Guac

Imagine what would happen if we took a moment to understand how our view of ourselves affected the world around us.

Grab your chips and I'll explain:

Status: Employed

Location: Chipotle Mexican Grill

Description: Providing Chipotle's fresh and delicious food quickly and with a smile.

Positions: Line, cashier, cook.

Summer is the best time to make money and it provides a place to make friends. Knowing this, I quickly snagged a job at Chipotle as soon as I heard they were hiring.

I've worked there for 3 weeks now and I spend most of my days on tortilla one. It's pretty easy as long as you know how to play 20 questions, "for here or to go? White or brown rice? Black or pinto beans?" etc. before passing the food to tortilla tow who asks "what kind of meat?" And "mild, medium, or hot?" If you find a way to survive the heat of standing back there behind an oven pressing tortillas all day and you can smile at the customers you're a pretty good fit.

I got the hang of the line position very quickly. I'm always cold so the heat never bothers me and I love people. However, as they hire more employees they need to have that position open for the new members of the crew so they can be trained. So, I was quickly moved to chips.

While cooking chips you have to fry them for precisely 23 seconds. You also need to make sure you have your limes, as well as, lemons cut. As soon as the crispy tortillas pieces come out the fryer you must bag them for customers. You make seven bins of chips, twice a day, it's a lot. And it's nothing compared to the line. It gets super hot and very boring. Needless to say, I don't like chips.

However, one day while frying my last batch I started thinking about the chips I was making and if they would be any good. I wondered, "did I season them well enough? Were they in the oil long enough? Would the customer complain about my chips. Or, would they rave and say these are the best tortilla chips they've ever had?" I make hundreds of chips in a day. Imagine they don't taste good. That's a lot of disappointed people. They may just be chips but, I wanted to know that my chips would affect the people eating them in a positive way. I wanted the people eating the chips to walk away feeling satisfied. I didn't want to leave a bad taste in their mouth.

I went about the rest of my shift and as I was clocking out there was a homeless man grabbing water in our store. He was pretty grumpy; and rightfully so considering the heat that day. I had to go but figured taking 5 minutes to buy this guy a meal was a better use of my time. Whatever important thing I had to do could wait. It was amazing how his mood changed; and then it occurred to me that we are very similar to those chips. We come into contact with hundreds of people throughout the day. We have the opportunity to be a positive, or negative, influence on someone's life. And we get to choose! So, how are we going to impact them?

Are you going to be a salty chip that ignores your friend's text? What if, you're the perfectly cooked and seasoned chip that opens the door for someone and brightens their day? Or, maybe you'll be the chip with no flavor, one that won't make an effort.

Regardless, we are our own chefs. We have the unique ability to decide when we come out the fryer and what seasonings we wear that day. Some will choose to drown in their circumstances. They may stay in the fryer too long, coming out burnt and with an unappealing attitude. Some might decide that the heat of the oil will not take over. They will come out golden and better than what they went in as, a floppy cold tortilla shell. They will be beautiful on the inside and out, one delicious chip.

When we allow our circumstances to take over our emotions, it not only hurts us, but the people around us too. It's not always easy though. How can we be kind to people around us when the world isn't being so kind to us? It's really easy; say it, even when you don't believe it. Remind yourself that you have a family that loves you, friends that care about you, you are talented, funny, kind, beautiful and a delicious tortilla. The joy we have in our everyday lives is a choice. It depends on our perspective and our attitude. Next time ask yourself; is this really that awful? Is my situation as bad as it could be? If the answer is yes, ask; How can I make this better?

Life is only as good as you make it. So, be your own chef; make a choice and come out a golden and deliciously salted tortilla chip. Everyone loves a golden, deliciously salted tortilla chip. If we could just take a moment to be kinder to ourselves, we could be happier! However, the best part is that the people around us could be too! Joy is contagious. When you are nice to yourself, you will be nice to others and like a perfect batch  of tortilla chips, when one is good they are all good. With better attitudes and perspectives this world will start to change; one chip at a time.

I used to hate chips but I've changed my perspective. I am the best chip fryer in Florida. It may not be true now but I'm saying it until I believe it. I love cooking them. My team loves when I make them because I've become quick and no complaints have come back to the kitchen since I've started telling myself this simple and silly statement. It's amazing how a small and easy attitude adjustment affected the whole store, both employees and customers. Who knows? Maybe they'll share some of their chips and a chain reaction will begin to occur.

With that being said; I'll take chips with a side of guac.