The last post left a lot of people wandering, what on earth is Chocolate Bar? 5 years ago, this story was shared at flight attendant training, by an amazing instructor. It was introduced as a reminder to enjoy the little things in life. To better understand this concept we’ll first look at the origination of the saying, “that’s so chocolate bar.” Next we’ll look at how it impacted myself personally. Lastly, we’ll take a look at a practical application of how you can make your days, “so chocolate bar.” In the deepest darkness of 2020, I have relied on finding my chocolate bar moments to make it the best year of my life.
Going all the way back to 2012, Dylan Siegel, wrote the book “So Chocolate Bar,” at the age of 6. His hope was to raise money to help his friend Jonah, who had a rare liver condition. In this book, ‘chocolate bar’ means awesome. Little did young Dylan know, that his book would raise over $1 million for his cause, but it would also inspire people across the globe to remember the little awesome moments in life. Our instructor introduced this book to remind us to find the awesome moments in everything we do. The reasoning, we all get caught up in rushing, and multi-tasking, that we forget to see the tree in the middle of the forest.
There have been so many moments in life where I am feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand, and the road ahead. It is at this point, that I have to remind myself to find those chocolate bar moments. When you’re tired, overloaded, studying, and knee deep in a global pandemic lockdown, it’s hard to find the silver lining on any cloud. This year I graduated pilot training, and my family was unable to attend drop night or graduation. I moved to Oklahoma to get qualified on the C-17, and finally moved into my new home in Charleston, South Carolina. All of these moments were so chocolate bar, but they were overshadowed by a feeling of aloneness. My family had been at every big moment of my life, and the biggest accomplishments of my life, my family had to watch on a video screen from home.
It was easy to get down, but there is one thing I’ve learned, and I always hear it in Diane’s voice, to remember that so many things are, “so chocolate bar.” One of the moments it hit me was on a tactical departure on my first flight in the C-17. I was flying a 500,000 pound aircraft, climbing 30 degrees nose high and turning out to a point. Out of nowhere, “this is so chocolate bar,” popped into my head, and I was smiling ear to ear. Something so simple can pull you out of a funk and remind you that there are awesome things hiding right in front of your face.
2020 brought about many new emotional and psychological challenges for each an every individual. One of the best tools I’ve had in my pocket is “Chocolate Bar.” It is easy to remember, and a simple concept. When the road gets rough it is always important to remember there are little details that are awesome. When the focus is on little wins, it makes the larger challenges seem manageable. So often the negatives are all that get highlighted, stop that. As Dylan Siegel reminds us, look around, and you’ll find so many things that are so chocolate bar.
Thinking back on flight attendant training, and the invaluable lesson to see the forest in the trees, I am nothing but thankful. I remember being on a layover in Omaha and thinking, man this is the birthplace of Omaha Steaks, thats so Chocolate Bar. While stationed in Mississippi, I drove up to Tupelo to live my Van Morrison inspired, Tupelo Honey moment, which was also, so Chocolate Bar. I encourage you to reflect in find your chocolate bar moments, or build some into your week as we close out this dumpster fire of year that is 2020.
Comment your chocolate bar moments of 2020 below!
Visit www.chocolatebarbook.com to learn more about Dylan Spiegel’s book and to support Glycogen Storage Disease Type 1b research.
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