Why Even Try?
As the holidays are winding down, I am reminded of something that happened two weeks ago. As I do during every Christmas season, I get very excited and rather ambitious about what cookies I want to make. This year I chose to make macarons. Now I realize that for some, this may be an easy thing to make, but for me it was a struggle. Not to mention, I’m not much of a baker… for some reason I’m much better at cooking. Anyway, long story short… my endeavors did not end well.
First off, I messed up the first steps and had to start completely over. Then after starting over, I followed each step meticulously. As I was finishing the process I realized that the dough was too runny and I had failed yet again. My mom was helping me and really worked on encouraging me. So we baked them anyway. But they did not bake the way they were suppose to either. My mom told me not to worry and that it was not a big deal. But I became irrationally angry.
Mostly, I was annoyed because I followed the directions. I watched the video a million times. I did each step and yet somehow, despite all my efforts, it turned out wrong. And for some reason, this sent my brain down a spiral!
Why was it that, even when I followed the direction, I still failed. In life we do what we are “suppose to” and try to make good choices. We try to be kind and follow the steps laid before us, yet, we still come up short. What is up with that? We give our best and still we fall flat on our face.
It raises the question, why even try? But as I sat there, looking at those sad and deformed cookies, another thought occurred to me. Maybe it’s not about how much you fail, but if you actually give up. I realized I could sit there and not bake all the other desserts I had planned, or I could suck it up and keep trying. Even though I was discouraged, I chose to try.
By the end of the holiday weekend, I had baked red velvet cake cookies, a lemon pound cake, and some sugar 'hot coco’ cookie cups. I was surprised with how well they all turned out. I just kept following the instructions. I slowed down and did my best. That’s the funny thing about life, sometimes, despite our best efforts we will come up short. And other times we succeed with flying colors.
Soon I want to attempt to make macarons again because, your response to your failure is what will determine your eventual success. The truth is, the only real failure is the person who never tries again.
Keep trying and Stay Excellent,
Megan