In life, there are good and bad days. But sometimes, little inconveniences accumulate and everything seems to be working against us, forcing us to have a bad day. In those moments, it’s not always easy to stay positive and see the good side of life. That’s where the burnt toast theory comes in — as showcased by a TikTok influencer as a way to put things into perspective.
As Glamour UK reported, it simply involves accepting bad things when they happen, and telling yourself that there is a good reason for them; That this incident, be it very unpleasant, had to happen.
In a viral video, TikToker Ingrid, also known as @offthe__grid, explains how this theory helped her understand some of her hardships. “I recently learned about the burnt toast theory, and it’s really been helping me accept things that are out of my control,” she explained. “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 the time you took to throw away your burnt toast and clean your toaster saved you from a car accident that happened at the same time, or from an earthquake or a building collapsing. You can see this as a sign from life and destiny that put you in this not-so-nice situation to avoid something worse.
@offthe__grid Monday morning thoughts… shoutout to the internet for sharing this wisdom so passing it along 💖❤️🩹 #therapytiktok #advice #anxiousattachment #fyp ♬ original sound – Ingrid
The burnt toast theory: The art of putting things into perspective daily
“I’ve often struggled with accepting things that are out of my control, and I’ve struggled with being an anxious person at times. But adopting this and really thinking about it when I might be upset about something that is out of my control has really grounded me and allowed me to just have a little bit more peace in my life. Of course, you won’t know exactly what the burnt toast has saved you from, but that’s not the point. The point is to allow you to accept things in life that are completely out of your control. Give you more peace and ground you,” the TikToker continued.
This is a way of learning to be more optimistic and toning down some of the things that happen to us. It’ll teach you to experience hardships and still move on by simply thinking that these hardships happened for a reason to save you from something that could have been much worse.
