I’m terrible at coherently presenting a new topic (which is why I don’t start many!), but the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about the so-called “comfort zone.”
When I was a kid, my music instructor would design exercises for me that went in unfamiliar and unexpected directions: “You hang around in first position too much; that’s meant to get you outside your comfort zone!”
I used to have a manager who’d constantly say, “People need to be challenged! People need to be forced out of their comfort zone!”
MrsT, who knows I like to travel…minus the actual traveling part, will tell me, “You need to stop wanting to go to the same places! You need to get outside your comfort zone!”
That said…do you have a “comfort zone” in relation to cooking, a set of practices or dishes or ingredients you’re so familiar with, so comfortable with, that any stress or anxiety cooking may otherwise give you isn’t there? We probably all do, to some extent.
For example, I can make pizza without thinking much about it, it’s very forgiving, and it’s a low effort/high reward dish for me; same thing with eggs. They’re so versatile and they’re easy to use.
Another example would be cuisine - I’m very comfortable with Midwest US comfort food dishes - lots of starches, lots of gravies, lots of heavy meats. Even if it’s something I’ve never personally made before, I can look at a recipe that fits that style, and feel very comfortable making it.
What about you, do you find yourself happily (or not, I suppose) returning again and again to old favorites, or things you don’t really find challenging?
Do you think you have a comfort zone (and by extension, a place where you’re not as self-assured, and therefore more anxious when cooking from that place)?
Do you like to be challenged with something new in the kitchen, even if it does make you a little nervous to do so?
What I want to be clear about is that I’m not simply talking about your willingness to try new dish or ingredient, but more about your overall psychological state with respect “getting outside your comfort zone.”
Alas, poorly expressed again, but have at it, CB’ers!
When I was a kid, my music instructor would design exercises for me that went in unfamiliar and unexpected directions: “You hang around in first position too much; that’s meant to get you outside your comfort zone!”
I used to have a manager who’d constantly say, “People need to be challenged! People need to be forced out of their comfort zone!”
MrsT, who knows I like to travel…minus the actual traveling part, will tell me, “You need to stop wanting to go to the same places! You need to get outside your comfort zone!”
That said…do you have a “comfort zone” in relation to cooking, a set of practices or dishes or ingredients you’re so familiar with, so comfortable with, that any stress or anxiety cooking may otherwise give you isn’t there? We probably all do, to some extent.
For example, I can make pizza without thinking much about it, it’s very forgiving, and it’s a low effort/high reward dish for me; same thing with eggs. They’re so versatile and they’re easy to use.
Another example would be cuisine - I’m very comfortable with Midwest US comfort food dishes - lots of starches, lots of gravies, lots of heavy meats. Even if it’s something I’ve never personally made before, I can look at a recipe that fits that style, and feel very comfortable making it.
What about you, do you find yourself happily (or not, I suppose) returning again and again to old favorites, or things you don’t really find challenging?
Do you think you have a comfort zone (and by extension, a place where you’re not as self-assured, and therefore more anxious when cooking from that place)?
Do you like to be challenged with something new in the kitchen, even if it does make you a little nervous to do so?
What I want to be clear about is that I’m not simply talking about your willingness to try new dish or ingredient, but more about your overall psychological state with respect “getting outside your comfort zone.”
Alas, poorly expressed again, but have at it, CB’ers!
