On baking and motivation
15 May
Life has kinda hit me right in the baking pans, and the past few days have seen me looking at this blog and baking as a whole with the sad eyes of “What does it matter?” It’s not easy, but I have 2 choices:
I can let all of this–baking, writing about baking, etc.–slip through my fingers, let my standmixer get dusty and lose myself in Netflix streaming or I can allow myself to have a slip of motivation, be okay with it, and then pick up when I’m feeling better.
Sure, the second option sounds like the no-brainer, but for someone like me, giving myself permission to flounder a little is not easy. My brain equates it with failure, with the idea of “well if you can’t keep up with the bigger blogs and post regularly and network and try to make new connections, then why are you even bothering? Stop now so no more time is wasted.”
Oh brains … they’re funny like that.
Motivation comes easily to some, not so easily to others. I’d typically say I’m a fairly motivated person, though I discourage easily. I’ve equated increased traffic to CFP as more engagement and more opportunities, and because I don’t have that (the traffic), I get passed up on a lot of sponsored opportunities, which I sometimes feel like will open more doors toward my end goal of having my own bakery.
Ray asked me last night, “…but does that make you a better baker?” And the answer is no. 10 more comments on a post will not suddenly make me a whiz at making macarons. Only time, practice, the right tools and good ingredients will make me a whiz at making macarons. But sometimes it’s easier to find the motivation to make something when you know you have a group of interested people cheering you on … or simply getting something positive out of your experience.
CFP leads me to bake for you. For those of you who ask me to bake a special occasion cake; for readers who follow my recipes and try them out in their own kitchens. For my friends who see the photos on Facebook and tease me that I’m making them drool all over their keyboards. I bake for you … and not so much for myself.
And that needs to change. I need to find a source of internal motivation so that when external motivators are less present, I can keep going and creating when I feel like it. But I also need to accept that even that motivation will run low at times, and that’s acceptable.
It’s kind of funny how a lot of this post reminds me of what my friend and Awesomography partner (oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I launched an entirely new SITE in May, created to help people map out their way to doing and creating awesome things) Brian wrote about blogging. The main point: Do things for YOU.
So, while I might be in a rough spot right now, I need to remember that. I need to bake and write for me. I need to find my own motivation, to relax my standards, and to know that a slip and a fall here and there does not equal failure.
If you have any tips on motivation, I’d love to hear them.
I wish I had the perfect words to scoop you back up into your happy place, but you said it best when you said you need to bake for you. Hell, that’s probably why you started baking in the first place! With me, who doesn’t blog, but bakes like a crazy woman, what pretty much does it for me is to see everyone’s face when they take their first bite of whatever goodness I made. That’s what motivates me…and to stay up til 1am finishing my cupcakes because I HAVE to take them to work in the morning. Nobody said I have to do anything really, but it’s what keeps me baking new things. The “for ME” part is actually how happy my baking makes others. I don’t have kids to pass on recipes to or anything that will make me think I NEED to do this, but damn, my coworkers are happy and my mom is proud because she used to swear I needed the recipe to boil water, haha! Anyway, I hope you find your sweet spot again and if it’s any consolation, I’ve been in love with your blog ever since you did the Bruery’s Autumn Maple Sweet Potato cupcakes! TO. DIE. FOR. Good Luck, Mel!!!
Wow Kat, thank you so, so, SO much.
Typically the “for me” part is also seeing the happiness of those who are eating my goodies, but I don’t always get to see it, so it can be tough. But I need to find it again. And I will, I just also have to be OK with the fact that this will happen from time to time, and to not let it completely throw me from the saddle.
Take care, and happy baking
Also let me know if you ever want to be a Guest Baker 
ABSOLUTELY! Well said! (And may I say that I always love your posts?!?)
For me, motivation comes from within, but we all come across struggles at times, do we not? I push myself by asking why make something ordinary when you can make something great?
My other main source of inspiration and push is reading Seth Godin’s blog EVERY day. It’s a constant reminder to go, do, create. With conviction and purpose and without stepping on other people’s toes. Email subscription works well for me; I never miss a post! http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
Keep doing what you do, and enjoy the hell out of each moment you spend doing it! Because it’s yours and it’s special!
Thanks Randy
I can always count on you. The power of sriracha unites us.
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