1327: In praise of wonky attempt and new recipes!

In today's episode, we're diving into why messy first tries are worth celebrating, and the power of having an imperfect starting points.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Wednesday to you. It is hump day. We are nearly halfway through the week. And because we all live with very loud dream shitters, I wanted to just quickly remind you that you are probably doing way better than what your dream shitter would give you credit for. I just wanted to remind you of that before we get going. So I know for a lot of us, we tend to get in a bit of a rut in terms of the meals that we cook. We have the same kind of four or five meals on rotation, and we've been getting a bit sick of them. So this week and last week, we've really started trying out new recipes.

And as we have, it's really got me thinking of how this relates to building a life we love. So we decided to choose a bunch of meals that were pretty easy to cook. We often get ourselves tangled in a right mess by choosing these elaborate things that neither of us have the energy at the end of the day to cook. And then we end up wondering what we're gonna do with the ingredients instead. So we picked three or four easy new recipes, and we've been testing them. And what really occurred to me is this. It's not really about how good that recipe is on the first go. The first attempt is figuring out what it tastes like.

It's figuring out whether it's doable, whether it's something we enjoy, and we can really adapt from there. Some of the meals that we enjoy the most are completely bastardized from different recipes and ways that we've adapted things, and they resemble nothing close to what the original recipe was. But without that original recipe, it probably wouldn't have existed. And here's how I think that relates to us. When we first have a go at something, we generally tend to expect the results to be pretty impressive, or we think we're not gonna bother again. We judge our early attempts, and it's really easy just to move on to the next thing rather than actually wondering if there was something there that you could build upon. But what if the point of that kind of starting recipe or that starting experiment is just to build yourself a really vague base or just to break the blank page. Sometimes it does go swimmingly.

Sometimes we try something and think, Fuck yeah, that is it. But a lot of the time, it doesn't tend to be quite right. And that's the whole point. You get to tailor things for you and the way they work for you and your tastes. As long as you're not doing anybody else harm, it doesn't really matter what other people think. It has to work for you and your brain. I think there is a lot of freedom that can be found in seeing the starting point as an experiment rather than trying to figure out what the end result is gonna be. There's so much to be learned from trying something to see if you even like it in the first place and to see if there is enough there to continue with.

There's also a lot of compassion to be found with trying something and realizing it's not for you. And that's not a personal failure. It's just not to your taste, and that's okay. And I think that is one of the joys of living a fabulously curious multi passionate life. There are so many things to dive into. To go back to the recipe analogy, there are so many different recipes to choose from and yet absolutely that can be a cause of overwhelm. But it also shows you the possibilities and that it's okay if one thing isn't for you. So I hope you find something in here that inspires you today.

On our search to kind of refresh the meals that we make, we have uncovered some meals that we used to make that we completely forgot about. So I'm also paying tribute and just reminding you of those as well. So it's Wednesday. You've nearly done it. You are doing so much better than you think you are. And here's to finding some fresh and some old sparks of inspiration and knowing that starting is great testing ground. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines

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