- Life: Cooking
I'm not an amateur chef, or even a foodie. I'm just a bachelor who has cooked for himself for most of his adult life. I like to watch some cooking shows on TV, but, other than that, I don't put much effort into it. I generally don't follow recipes. Every meal is an experiment. I learn from my mistakes, and the next opportunity to try again is only hours away. After years of preparing my own meals and reflecting on results I've developed an instinct for creating good food.
Often while I'm cooking I can feel that I've entered the same mental state as when I'm shooting hoops or doing yoga or creating art and design. I can only describe it as a kind of flow. Decisions about which ingredients to combine, or how much of each to use, or how long to cook, and at what temperature, etc., are not deliberated; they are felt. Imagining the outcome as I go along engages my senses as though I can taste the result before it is finished. This is a skill. It is developed over a long period of time practicing a given pursuit. I don't know how it works for others, but for me it feels like maturation of the creative process.
- Outcome
It can be difficult to trust this skill, as in the classic experiment in which you must trust a person behind you to catch you as you blindly fall backward. I believe that's what accounts for impostor syndrome, which commonly affects people in creative roles. Learning to recognize and practice the cross-functional cognitive aspects of the creative process develops self assurance that applies to many activities. Like yoga and basketball, cooking for myself has improved me as a designer.