The great satirical online newspaper The Onion illustrated one of my favorite stepping-stones to creating the life you want. I wrote about it in this relevant post, “A model that will bring you happiness.”

They didn’t realize they were onto something more effective than they thought, but their description of how deeply changing your environment can change your mood shows a great way to start changing your life — whether you want to get more things done, feel happier, avoid feeling miserable, or whatever. It’s a big deal to realize things in your environment you can directly control can consistently, predictably, and reliably create emotions you want. Combine that with knowing you can control your beliefs and behavior and some practice and you can create the lifestyle you want.

They only missed the next step of extending the small step from creating short-term pleasure into long-term happiness and emotional reward. That’s what the Model and Method do.

Anyway, here’s the article.

Giant Burrito To Solve All Of Area Man’s Problems For 6 Precious Minutes

GREENSBORO, NC—According to sources at a local Qdoba, 31-year-old advertising sales associate Anthony Gerrit is about to purchase an extra-large burrito that will completely resolve every concern, burden, and troublesome issue in his life for six blissful minutes.

“I’ll have a chicken burrito, please,” said Gerrit, soon to be overcome with feelings of pure joy, without a care in the world about his work performance or whether his coworkers like him. “With some brown rice.”

“And black beans,” Gerrit added as the burrito—which for the next few minutes will remove any expectations from his family to be as successful as his other siblings—was slid over to the next employee in the food preparation line. “Thanks.”

Reports confirmed that upon taking his first bite of the Mexican delicacy at approximately 6:42 p.m., Gerrit will be instantly liberated from having to pay any outstanding credit card bills, car payments, or monthly rent. Prior to taking his final bite six minutes later, Gerrit will also be spared any guilt for not calling or visiting his parents more often, and especially for his decision not to come home for Thanksgiving this year.

Additionally, sources said, the burrito and a medium soda will cost $7.84 and for 360 glorious seconds fully absolve Gerrit from his responsibility to finish a major work project by next Monday’s deadline, erase his $14,000 outstanding student loan debt, and halt the declining health of his 82-year-old grandmother.

“Can I just get some pico de gallo and cheese?” said Gerrit, selecting toppings that will negate any pressure to settle down and start a family like many of his friends from high school and college. “And a little bit of sour cream.”

“Actually, you know what, forget the sour cream—make it guacamole instead,” added Gerrit, removing his wallet to pay for the 7-inch-long, 5-inch-wide temporary solution to all of his problems.

Sources said the burrito will not only provide a resolution to the 31-year-old’s recent fight with his girlfriend over moving in together after the lease on his apartment runs out, but also completely erase any lingering questions in his mind about whether their relationship has run its course.

According to reports, as soon as Gerrit sits down in one of the restaurant’s booths and begins eating, he will be immediately transported to a wondrous, perfect world in which any and all of life’s difficulties are simply washed away, replaced instead by a warm flour tortilla tightly packed with chicken, rice, beans, salsa, and vegetables.

While consuming the meal, Gerrit will reportedly not even need a job or a girlfriend or money or an apartment or a graduate degree or groceries or clean laundry or a new couch or a reliable internet connection or better health insurance or good credit or a cheaper cell phone plan or allergy medication or a new pair of jeans that aren’t torn at the bottom or a flu shot or gas for his car or general satisfaction with his life or, indeed, anything at all.

“Sorry, can you just add a little extra chicken before you close it? It’s fine if it costs more,” said Gerrit, moving toward the cash register to collect his short-lived salvation from life’s inherent sadness, angst, fear, hopelessness, anger, uncertainty, and pain. “That’s perfect.”

At press time, after filling his cup with soda, sitting down, and peeling back his dinner’s aluminum foil wrapper, Gerrit entered a world where in fact the only thing that exists—the only thing at all—is one delicious, savory burrito.

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