Every time I went to a restaurant, I faced the same problem; what to choose from the menu?
The waiter would finally take my order, but before the waiter was about to leave, I would change my order again. And by the time I got my foodโฆ.. I would be slightly disappointed in what I have in front of me. Or it didn’t taste as good as I had in my mind! I would look at what other people ordered and say: “wow, that looks nice! I should have ordered that too!” My “Futterneid or Food envy” would rise!
This was an ongoing process until I realized that it was something I could change, and I wanted to change this particular habit.
Slowly, I became aware why I was afraid to choose in a restaurant. Decisions felt so final to me. It felt like if I made a decision now, I would stick with it.
In my awareness, I heard my parents’ voices constantly saying, “be careful and make your decisions wisely.” That was where I got an aha moment; I realized because of that I got the fear. It was fear of making a decision.
I wanted to change that and took action to move away from that recurring pattern.
These are the three steps that I took to break away from my order-disorder:
Step 1 Become aware of your problem – and decide to change that recurring pattern
Step 2 Take action to interrupt that recurring pattern by doing a check-in with yourself when you go out for dinner. “Do I want to have a healthy meal, or do I want comfort food, or do I want to try something new?” Make the decision based on what is best for you at that moment in time!
Step 3 No matter what food you decide to order, stick with it!
It wasn’t easy since I had to become aware of that pattern every time, and I had to repeat those three steps continuously until it became an automatic habit.
Recently, I went to the Avocado show in Amsterdam with my cousins from Aruba and New York. There were too many choices on the menu, but I spotted a poke bowl with Salmon. I made the decision that I wanted to eat healthily. I decided to have a poke bowl with salad instead of rice. As you can see in the picture, it looked and tasted delicious! I no longer have that indecisive urge anymore nor “Futterneid or Food Envy when I go to restaurants ๏
Solving my order-disorder fixed more.
I realized that the three steps could be used in any area of my life, from unwanted habits or habits that no longer serve me. I have shared this with several clients too. And so far, I have only heard positive comments about it. It is not an overnight fix: it takes a lot of conscious effort. But,, in the end, it is worth it!
Do you want to get rid of some of your habits or patterns. Contact me to discuss if and how I can help you.