My most successful blog for 2024 was No Recipe. “I agree that one shouldn’t change a winning recipe, but the 2024 wine grape harvest once again proved that when it comes to making a new vintage of wine, there really isn’t a recipe.” Looking back at this year, I think my idea about a recipe might me true for more than winemaking.
How content are you with 2024? Did your recipe for this year turn out as expected? What recipe did you follow? Did you go with a trusted family one or did you try something new and good-looking you found online? Did you pick familiar ingredients or did you add something exotic to the mix? Did you stick to your skill level or did you try something a little out of your league? What was the results?
Being satisfied with your year, does not necessarily imply that you were wildly successful, regardless of whether your aim was making money or competing in the Olympics. Your own success is also not something you should measure against others. I do, however, find that despite our best resolutions, intentions and even hard work, when the year picks up speed around mid-January, we often lose control and come up for quick bit of air around Easter, just to continue battling for survival until it is December again.
It might not be too farfetched to say that most of us are a little disillusioned with how the year turned out. I also think, however, that we are often a little too hard on ourselves. There might have been many small successes that we forget in the chase to the big ideal. There are things to celebrate at the end of the year, but, of course, there can also be definite disappointments. What do we do when the recipe for the year didn’t deliver a well-baked, beautifully risen cake with a fine crumb? What do we make of the dense, flat cake that is somewhere between your grandma’s acclaimed sponge and a bazaar pancake?
As we are working with the recipe reference, I found some help on a recipe site! Eatdrinkfrolic.com‘s advice for when your recipe fails, is spot-on in many more areas than the kitchen. We all know that sometimes, despite following the recipe to precision or sticking to your plan, the result is not what you expected.
- Ask yourself if there is any humour to be found in what happened to your year. Sometimes it is worthwhile finding something to laugh about your situation.
- But jokes aside, you need to figure out what went wrong. If you have identified issues, corrected them and tried more than once, it might be that there is an issue with the recipe and you might have to find another one that works better or that works better for you.
- Sometimes it is all about sticking to the plan, but other times there is room to improvise. When you bake a chicken pie rather than a delicate cake, for instance, you can add some butter for moisture. Playing around with volumes and numbers in a cake batter, might prove to be a disaster.
- Have a back-up plan. While there is something to be said for focus and dedication to a single outcome, having another option to consider isn’t all bad. When running hurts your knees too much, perhaps consider cycling for your fitness regime.
- Choose your recipe wisely. Don’t just do what everyone else does. Perhaps 2024 didn’t turn out the way you expected, but there’s always 2025. Think about what you want to achieve and where you want to be this time, next year.
- Have you watched MasterChef where they read and read that recipe while the clock is ticking? It can drive you crazy! I just want them to get on with the cooking. But preparation is important. Know what you are getting yourself into. Do your research, get yourself organised and set yourself up for success.
- Take notes. What actions did you take this year? Did you perhaps add a little more or a little less? Do you open the oven door in a hurry? Too impatient to wait for the bread to rise? Type yourself a list. At the end of the year, look back and see where you’ve gone wrong. Were you just too impatient or not accurate enough? Perhaps the signs were there for you to change direction, but you ignored them.
It is too late now to change the recipe for 2024 and if your results aren’t what you expected, there isn’t a lot to do at this late stage, rather than learning the lesson for the next year. Look back and allow the learnings of 2024 to guide you towards picking and following a winning recipe for 2025.