I really like sequential contrasts.
For example, I typically like savory dishes followed by dessert. The dessert tastes better to me because it was proceeded by something salty, spicy, or plain.
Keeping this in mind, I recently started doing something that I really enjoy. It’s been bitter cold in St. Louis, and when possible, I stay indoors. However, there are certain times that I need to dash outside for a few minutes, like to take out the trash.
To make these frigid dashes more enticing, I’ve been timing them so that my shower for the day immediately follows the dash. I think it may have started out as a coincidence, but now it’s become a purposeful habit. It’s fantastic.
It actually reminds me of my college days when I’d go snowboarding over spring break. I had the good fortune of knowing someone with a slope-side lodge in Breckenridge, and we’d all dash from the snow into the hot tub multiple times. The contrast made the reward of the hot tub all the more special.
Do you enjoy sequential contrasts? Do you go out of your way to make them happen?
Jamey,
So, for me, I always set a yearly physical goal for myself. Last year, it was run 1,000 miles, which I managed to do! My new goal, which is 100 sit-ups a day (at one go), is followed not only by a shower, but usually a small cocktail. Now, we can debate the merits of a cocktail immediately following my workout, but suffice it say, it’s my current sequential contrast.
Cheers,
Joe
The salty, spicy—but rarely purely plain—foods of my once-a-day meal must end with a wee portion of too-sweet-for-most-people dessert. But then, my taste buds demand a bite of salty to accompany my body’s transition back to its horizontal working position.