Eat that frog!
- Jan 14, 2016
- 3 min read
Have you ever eaten a frog, cooked or uncooked? Don't ever tell me that it taste like chicken. Being a ranidaphobic, I am too "chicken" to even pet a frog, let alone eat one. The phrase, "Eat that frog" is literally not about culinary delicacies. It is said to be originated from Mark Twain, “If you eat a live frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day.” However, according to QuoteInvestigator, it was first use in the 1790s, by Nicolas Chamfort, a French writer. Chamfort wrote, ". . . disait qu’il faudrait avaler un crapaud tous les matins, pour ne trouver plus rien de dégoûtant le reste de la journée . . ." translated as, " . . . we should swallow a toad every morning, in order to fortify ourselves against the disgust of the rest of the day . . ."
And not surprisingly in 1976, a leap year, Walt Evans in his Quote Page A10, The Seattle Times, Dec. 17, 1976 edition, wrote, "One thing I saw above a desk in the (Sea)Hawks ticket office I’ll pass along in hopes that it will be a motto by which you might live. It read: “Eat a live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” (QI)
Perhaps one of the most influential motivational / self-help guru, Brian Tracy made this phrase popular in his "Eat That Frog" Training Kit, further elaborate, in his video . . .
“If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the rest of the day with the satisfaction of knowing that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long . . .Your Frog is your biggest most important task. It’s the one you’re most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it right now. It’s also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment."
He explained the "ABCDE" method in time management planning. By doing so, we'll get rid of the main reason for procrastination.
We know that the way to stop procrastinating is to just do what we dread first and of highest importance. His short, concise book with no psychology jargon on procrastination, explained about setting priorities, delegating and eliminating tasks that is unimportant. He offered 21 powerful techniques to overcome procrastination and help us achieve success in our life . . .
1. Set the table (goal setting)
2. Plan everyday in advance
3. Apply the 80/20 rule to everything
4. Consider the sequences
5. Practice the ABCDE Method continually (rating and prioritizing)
6. Focus on key result areas
7. Obey the Law of Forced Efficiency (do the most important first)
8. Prepare thoroughly before you begin
9. Do your homework
10. Leverage your special talents
11. Identify you key constraints
12. Take it one oil barrel at a time
13. Put the pressure on yourself
14. Maximize your personal powers
15. Motivate yourself into action
16. Practice creative procrastination
17. Do the most difficult task first
18. Slice and dice the task
19. Create large chunks of time
20. Develop a sense of urgency
21. Single handle every task
The result is clear, that by regularly eating your "frogs" first, you develop a habit that makes it easier to accomplish more than the average person and do it with increasingly less effort.
Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Food of Asia, on his trip to a getemono bars in Tokyo, attested that he never ate anything that move so much, referring to the frog's throbbing heart. Without hesitation or procrastination, he picked up with a pair of chopsticks and ate it in a few bites with a gulp, commented, "Not bad, not a whole heck a lot of flavor". In case you were wondering how a Frog Sashimi taste like, all Andrew Zimmern could say is, "Ah, so good!" His motto, " if it looks good, EAT IT! Bon appétit.
Not surprising, his refreshment is a Sake garnished with a rather large dead lizard. As for me, I will settle with "Frog Eggs" (Soaked Basil Seeds) Cocktail in Malaysian Coconut Flavor garnished with a sliced lemon and a tiny Pink Umbrella. Cheers! Zimmern.
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