It feels like this

why we can't create or bake alone

Last weekend I wanted to make some cookies, but I didn’t have any softened butter, so I Googled tricks for how to bring butter up to temperature quickly. What I found, dear reader, was shocking. 

Softened means room temperature but room temperature is not actually room temperature – or at least not room temperature in my house. Here’s the deal:

“​​Room temperature butter is cool to the touch and about 65°F (18°C). This might be colder than your kitchen. When you press it, your finger will make an indent. Your finger won’t sink down into the butter, nor will your finger slide all around. To get that perfect consistency and temperature, leave butter out on the counter for around 1 hour prior to beginning your recipe.”

How the heck is a home cook supposed to know that room temperature isn’t room temperature? Or that softened butter should actually feel pretty firm?

I was incensed.

Sally goes on to explain my entire baking experience wherein I suddenly decide I need to bake something (No, it’s not to avoid writing. Okay, yes maybe it is) then I have no butter out on the counter. She explains, “We make up for it by trying to heat it in the microwave, but it always ends up slightly melted. At this point, butter and sugar can’t cream properly leading to cookies over-spreading, dense cakes, overflowing cupcakes, and flat muffins.”

Yes! That’s exactly what happens.

The softened butter had me thinking about Dream Projects and here’s why:

We think we need a recipe and instructions when what we need is someone to share their experience with us. We think we need step-by-step instructions, but what we need is to better understand what the process is like and how it looks and feels. 

We have an image in our head of what softened butter looks like, but if I use soft butter and not 65-degree butter, then I’m going to be frustrated with my attempts at all manner of baked goods. Similarly, we have an image in our head of what it looks like to write a book or start a coaching business or quilt or build a platform, but if what we expect the creating to be like is different than our experience, then we end up frustrated and thinking we aren’t cut out for the work or don’t have what it takes.

We think we need step-by-step instructions, but what we need is to better understand what the creative process is like. 

What we need is lived experience. What we need is people at all different places in all different types of creative projects saying, “It feels like this,” so that we can nod our heads in response and say, “Oh yeah, it sure does.” 

We give one another words to describe what it looks and feels like to do work we care about. And when we finally figure out how to soften butter, we share that too.

Get your creative juices flowing ✍🏽 🎨 🧵 🎤

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PS: This post was written by Kristin and edited by Margo. Margo does not bake 🍰. She is a fan of baking metaphors, especially in lieu of running ones…