What Cooking Shows Taught Me About Stress

You know your girl loves her cooking shows.

Recently, I started watching a new one called 24 in 24.

The premise is pretty simple: 24 chefs compete, and to win, they have to complete 24 competitions in 24 hours.

I was folding what felt like my 47th load of laundry—because why is there ALWAYS so much laundry?—when I got hooked.

But as I watched, I realized I wasn't just watching a cooking competition.

I was watching an incubator of stress.

Challenge after challenge.

Time pressure.

Unexpected changes.

Competition.

Fatigue.

And, of course, my favorite:

The unexpected twist.

The show called it an adaptability challenge, and honestly, I loved watching what happened when the chefs were suddenly told that the plan they had been preparing for was no longer the plan.

Sound familiar?

Because isn't that life?

We can make a plan.

We can organize our calendar.

We can prepare.

And then...

Something changes.

A deadline moves.

A client calls.

A machine breaks.

Someone calls out.

Your child gets sick.

Your flight gets delayed.

Suddenly, the plan you carefully created doesn't matter anymore.

What happens next?

I Love Watching the Reactions

One of my favorite parts of cooking shows and, honestly, Eagles games too—is watching people's reactions.

The camera zooms in on the chef's face as the host announces the next challenge.

You can almost see their thoughts.

Some chefs immediately seemed to think:

"Bring it on. I know I have the skills to figure this out."

Others looked at the strong competitors around them and seemed to think:

"I've trained for this. I can handle it."

And then there were those who approached it with something I think we can all learn from:

"Win or lose, I'm going to give it everything I have, and I'm going to learn from this."

Same challenge.

Different reactions.

Stress Doesn't Always Mean We're Unprepared

We hear a lot about stress management from athletes.

We hear about visualization, routines, breathing, preparation, mindset, and practice.

But watching these chefs reminded me that we can learn the same lesson from them.

These chefs didn't suddenly become confident when the unexpected challenge appeared.

They had been building the skills, habits, and experience long before that moment.

They practiced.

They failed.

They adjusted.

They learned what worked.

And over time, those experiences created confidence.

So when the unexpected happened, they had something to fall back on.

That is an important distinction.

Confidence doesn't always come from knowing exactly what is going to happen.

Sometimes confidence comes from knowing:

"Whatever happens, I have tools I can use."

What Are Your Stress Tools?

This is something I talk about often in my workshops.

We can't eliminate stress.

We can't control every unexpected twist.

And we certainly can't control other people's reactions.

But we can become aware of our own patterns and develop tools that help us respond.

Maybe your tool is taking a few deep breaths.

Maybe it's stepping away for two minutes.

Maybe it's asking a clarifying question instead of making an assumption.

Maybe it's having a conversation before frustration builds.

Maybe it's knowing when you need to ask for help.

Maybe it's simply reminding yourself:

"I don't have to solve everything in this exact moment."

The important part is practicing those tools before you desperately need them.

Practice Before the Pressure

Think about a chef preparing for a competition.

They don't wait until the timer starts to learn how to use a knife.

They don't wait until the kitchen catches fire—figuratively speaking—to learn how to work under pressure.

They practice.

And because they've practiced, those skills become easier to access when stress rises.

We can do the same thing.

The goal isn't to become someone who never gets stressed.

The goal is to become someone who recognizes stress, knows what they need, and has tools they can reach for when the unexpected happens.

Because there will always be an unexpected twist.

The question is:

What will you do when it comes?

Maybe I'll keep watching cooking shows and Eagles games for the reactions. 😂

But I'm also going to keep paying attention to what they can teach us about stress, resilience, preparation, and adaptability.

Because sometimes the best lessons show up in the most unexpected places.

And, of course...

Drink The Coffee While It's HOT! ☕💜