Do You Like The Idea
Better Than The Reality?

Have you ever had this happen to you?

You get yourself all excited about an idea...only to realize halfway through that you don't really like the reality of acting on the idea so much?

When I saw the enchanting movie "Julie & Julia," I was completely enamored with the idea of working my way through the Julia Childs cookbook, "Mastering The Art of French Cooking," just like Julie Powell did and then recounted in her 2002 blog.

I left the movie theater and went straight to the book store where I immediately bought the cookbook itself, which must have weighed at least 10 pounds.

"Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was beautiful. It beckoned me with images of boeuf bourguignon and making the perfect crepes and whipping up mousse au chocolat on the spur of the minute, just because I could.

I started reading it like a good novel.

Using my favorite yellow highlighter, I marked the passages that I just knew were going to play a new role in my upcoming glamorous life as Sue Rasmussen, master of French cooking.

It took me a good week or so to realize a couple of crucial points that I wished I had remembered before I started down this imagined culinary path.

First of all, I don't really like cooking all that much. I can cook; I just don't love spending a lot of time in the kitchen. And the reality of spending an entire year making all the recipes in this cookbook, even though it sounded really cool when someone else did it, was starting to sound a lot less inviting when I thought about ME doing it.

Second, I realized I wasn't even interested in eating many of the recipes in Julia's lovely cookbook. I mean, aspics? Calf's brains?

So at this point I was at a crossroads.

I could either move forward on this project that had sounded so fun in the beginning, or I could admit to myself (not always easy to do) that the idea was so much more enticing to me than the reality.

In the end, I chose to enjoy the idea, enjoy watching Julie Powell's story in "Julie & Julia," and let that be more than enough for me.

And after another month, I happily gave the cookbook away - and felt such freedom!

How often have you gotten excited about an idea, and then realized you either don't truly want to act on it, or simply have no way to squeeze one more activity into your already full schedule, or just keep finding reasons not to do it?

If you're like me with my French cooking project, you may have even bought all the equipment or gear or props to follow through with your idea. Not only do you now need to decide if you're going to let go of the idea, but also all of the related stuff that goes along with the idea.

Think how much simpler your life would be, right now, if you gave yourself permission to let go of one project, goal, or plan that you simply haven't moved forward on.

Get rid of the paraphernalia: the unused craft supplies or violin or fabric or power tools or kitchen appliances that you are not using.

And consider yourself complete. Consider that you got what you needed from that idea.

And the next time you get really excited about something, especially an idea that requires a big outlay for supplies, consider giving yourself time to mull it over and make sure it's something you really want to act on, rather than simply enjoying the idea of it.

I have to admit, the IDEA of working my way through every recipe in that fabulous cookbook still entices me from time to time.

But the reality? Not so much. :)

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