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Life

22nd Jan 2024

The Burnt Toast Theory will change your outlook on life

Jody Coffey

The universe has got our backs!

The image of burnt toast immediately brings forth feelings of inconvenience, frustration, disappointment, and impatience.

When this happens, we have two options: eat the burnt toast or start the process all over again and be five to ten minutes behind schedule.

However, if you found yourself facing this small, yet annoying, predicament this morning, there is a theory about burnt toast that may turn the aforementioned feelings into ones of gratitude and positivity.

TikTok has churned out yet another combative theory for our mental health, and this one may even have you savouring your charred bread on the way to work.

The Burnt Toast Theory is essentially about embracing life’s challenges and frustrations and believing that they’re putting you on the right path.

A TikToker named Ingrid (@offthe__grid) is just one of thousands of users who have allowed the theory to reframe her thinking around inconvenience.

Burnt toast theory is the idea that if you burn your toast before work and it adds five to 10 minutes to your trip, it’s actually saving you from something catastrophic.

Maybe saving you from a car accident. Maybe saving me from someone who you don’t want to run into.

But this is the idea that inconveniences in our lives, or when something releases us in the universe, it’s either saving us from something more detrimental or pushing us in the direction that we need to go in.

@offthe__grid via TikTok
@offthe__grid Monday morning thoughts… shoutout to the internet for sharing this wisdom so passing it along 💖❤️‍🩹 #therapytiktok #advice #anxiousattachment #fyp ♬ original sound – faye

The now-viral video is encouraging others to accept what is not in their control, particularly those who may have anxiety, and trust that the universe has a plan.

The Burnt Toast Theory is quite similar to the Butterfly Effect in that it relies on the notion that the world is deeply interconnected and that one small occurrence can influence larger events.

While the Butterfly Effect suggests that our decisions and actions have a ripple effect elsewhere and in the future, the Burnt Toast Theory is a more grounded way to overcome frustrations that are out of our control and see them as protection from the universe.

@eatcleanandhikethings #greenscreen #alaskaair #flightincident #boeing737max #scaryflight #godshands #Godisgood ♬ original sound – Weight Loss & Hormone Journey

Think about it: burning our toast (or a similar inconvenience) may set us back a few minutes, and then we miss the bus and are late for work.

In these few moments when we are delayed, we may miss awkwardly bumping into an ex or getting into a taxi that’s about to break down, for example.

More positively, we may meet the love of our lives or a new friend hopping on the next bus after the one we planned to get on.

On a more catastrophic and less likely scale, people who miss flights may have their lives saved by the major inconvenience.

@jade.idkk when things don’t go your way -> remember ✨ burnt toast theory ✨ #burnttoasttheory #dailyreminder #positiveaffirmations ♬ original sound – jade.

Choosing to embrace the metaphorical burnt toast method in life allows us to be more open to the idea that positive things are on the way, instead of dwelling on those feelings of inconvenience or frustration and letting them ruin your day.

The next time you catch yourself feeling annoyed at the bus station after seeing your ride drive away, lean into the idea that the universe has something good in store for you.

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