Getting on first base | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe, great holiday season to end 2025 and welcome in 2026.

Much gratitude to all of the readers, especially those who personally tell me why they liked my last column. I know you are of my generation and still read the paper. Most of you frequented our restaurants back in the day — mahalo!

The end of the year makes me look back and also forward to the year ahead. New Year’s resolutions have been around for 4,000 years. How many of us made New Year’s gym resolutions? What about those regarding better health or happiness? Or success at work? How many of us start in January and are pau in February? I remember the Honolulu Club used to be packed on Jan. 2 for the first two weeks, but the crowds started to dwindle toward the end of the month.

It’s the same thing with taking on a new project or goal. I believe it’s in the planning and scheduling. Writing it down on the calendar is a commitment. Numbers are metrics that show progress. I like the idea of doing things little by little, but consistently. This consistently leads to good habits. It’s like this old song I used to sing when I went out for karaoke, Sweet and Slow. Long story short, the turtle wins the race and the rabbit comes in second.

Mr. Polendey was my fifth grade teacher at Kipapa Elementary School. He gave us so much homework that when I came home from school I had to start it right away so that I could go to baseball practice because that was the deal I made with my mom. It took some discipline, but I did it. That year was significant because it made me create a good habit. I always did my homework before I went to play. I wasn’t in the honors class, but I did OK because I did my work.

Small successes are enough to motivate you on to the next small success, and in doing so they create consistency and habit.

In the kitchen, it became the same with me. I tried to do my work consistently as a habit. I tinkered around a lot and dabbled, but I always did it. Some were successful and some were not, but I kept at it.

Home-run hitters have a higher amount of strikeouts and most times have a lower batting average than the other guy who gets on base with base hits.

Cooking, for me, is similar. I see cooks trying to make the home-run dish when all that’s necessary is to have one great successful component. That’s considered getting on first base. Then, in their next attempt, they get another component done and they are on second base. You keep doing this until you get home and score. This takes perseverance and consistency. The cook that didn’t get his special on the menu fell short because he didn’t hit the home run, he was on third base and needed to work it some more.

I saw that he got frustrated and discouraged. What was needed was an internal push, which is hard to teach. That internal push or fire is the ability to find your inspiration to keep going, which is within you. This is different from motivation, which is external and someone has to push you. It’s also the difference between good and great.

Think of your New Year’s Eve gym resolutions differently so that in November and December of this year you are still working in the gym on your resolutions. The formula is to write it down, schedule it and keep track of your progress no matter how small. Don’t try to hit a home run, be consistent until it becomes a habit. Therein lies the dopamine needed to persevere.

Welcome to the New Year! I wish you all a great year.

Back in the day in high school, it wasn’t a home run, and I believe the call was “safe.”