Ramen noodles are a dandy dish from time to time. They’re fast. Filling. Cheap. They also immediately sate our hunger – at least for the moment.
But in about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how hungry you were and how much ramen you ate, you’re going to end up being hungry again. You’ll need something else to keep that hunger sated.
That’s where the Ramen Noodle Theory comes in.
Before we dive into the theory, I must give credit where credit is due. The idea of the Ramen Noodle Theory came out of a phone conversation I had with an extremely interesting and intelligent health insurance guy named Jentrey Shannon. And I don’t want to risk a premium increase by not giving him proper acknowledgement (KIDDING!).
OK, now that you know the Ramen Noodle Theory was a joint effort, it’s time to grab your chopsticks (or fork, in my case) and dive on in.
Ramen Noodle Theory explained
The Ramen Noodle Theory says the same thing that happens to your stomach when you try to fulfill its hunger with ramen noodles happens to your soul when you try to fulfill its hunger with ramen-noodle-type fixes. You may get sated for the short term, but you’ll be starving for more in the span of a several minutes.
Our souls get hungry when our basic human needs aren’t being met. The 10 basic human needs I like to focus on are:
- Acceptance
- Affection
- Appreciation
- Approval
- Attention
- Comfort
- Encouragement
- Respect
- Security
- Support
The only sustainable way to fulfill our need for all of the above is with healthy, wholesome – and even organic, non-GMO – types of fixes. The ramen-noodle-type fixes will just leave us more depleted than when we started. They also tend to leave us perpetually grabbing for more, more and more.
What are ramen-noodle-type fixes?
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Shopping
- Gambling
- Sex
- Eating an entire chocolate cake or box of candy in a single sitting
- Over-anything
- Obsessions with celebrities with butt implants
- Gossip
- Codependency
- Anger
- All BEEPS: Behaviors, events, experiences, people and substances that give us an instant boost yet super quick crash
What about the non-GMO, organic fixes?
Here’s where you’ll find the lineup of healthy and wholesome things that may take a tad longer to sate our hunger, but they continue to contribute to health, happiness and growth for the long haul. They include things like:
- Meaningful relationships
- Joyful moments
- Adequate nutrition and sleep
- Exercise
- Gratitude
- Spiritual connections
- Meditation
- Prayer
- God
- Dogs
- Self-love
- Self-care
- Fulfilling your life purpose
Choose your diet wisely
Ramen noodles may be fast, cheap, easy and instantly gratifying, but they’re NOT going to sustain you for more than a few minutes. If everyone lived on ramen noodles alone, we’d probably be in a pretty shabby state – and definitely see an increase in our health insurance premiums.
We need fresh, clean, healthy, life-sustaining fuel from a variety of sources to keep our bodies happy and healthy. The same holds true for our souls.
Dig The Ramen Noodle Theory? So do I. Check out additional self-enhancement tips in my 12 Steps for Everyone book.
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