my pie analogy

No, this is not a recipe post. The picture of the pie is a bit deceiving, but it is here for another purpose. I have been pondering a question in my mind for sometime. One that I think other people struggle with too so I thought I would try and put some words to my thoughts. So, where to begin. This spring has been a period of my life that I have been able to focus my energy in a number of different areas. Some areas are new, some I have focused on for a while. I have enjoyed being able to explore new interests and to challenge myself physically, mentally and creatively. But part of myself holds back. Holds back from really exposing myself and letting myself be vulnerable. I had to think about what this is. And I kept coming back to fear. Fear of failure. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of who I really am. I think many of us share these feelings. And this fear holds us back. We don't allow ourselves to experiment, make mistakes and fail at the things we try to do. We fear what people will think of us and if we'll be good enough in their eyes.
I have thought about this fear and how it holds me back from living my life. I am a perfectionist and want to create things that I am proud of. But I need to let go of this perfection and allow myself to be proud of the imperfections, the mistakes that happen. Be proud of the process, not just the end result.
So I had to think about what I wanted to conquer. What was something that I have always wanted to try but feared the result? Pie making. Yes, it's not a big thing but I have always wanted to learn how to make a flaky and light pastry but never had the time and feared that my end result would be a hard, tasteless disaster. So, I let go of this fear and just went for it. I didn't care what the pie was like when it was finished. I wanted to enjoy learning the art of pastry making. I was confident in my attempts and I think this attitude makes a difference in how we perform and how we feel about ourselves. So what if my first attempt was a pie that was undercooked. My family still ate it. My second attempt ended up with a fully cooked pie but with a filling that needed way more sugar. But we still ate it.
If you can relate to these similar feelings of fear, I challenge you to explore this area of yourself. What is holding you back from trying new things or putting all of yourself in what you do? Try to forget about what others will think or even how things turn out in the end. Just the ability to take the risk and do something new helps us grow. And it's okay to start small. Making pies is certainly not life changing, but it is a first step.