Two Minutes Du Jour

I make a lot of chocolate chip cookies for my grandson, Z, and over the years, I’ve perfected my process. I use the Toll House Cookie recipe, have it memorized, and always achieve just the right texture. I even keep frozen dough balls at the ready for last-minute baking.

A few weeks ago, we finished the last batch, so I decided to make more dough. Normally, I let the butter soften before creaming it with the sugars, but in my haste, I pulled the butter straight from the refrigerator. Thinking my KitchenAid mixer could make up for my shortcut, I let it run longer than usual to warm the butter up and get everything incorporated. While I could tell there were still small globs of butter, I figured they would bake just fine.

Not so. The cookies spread thin in the 375-degree oven. They looked nothing like the ones we usually enjoy, and I suspected Z wouldn’t want to try them—even though my husband and sons reassured me they still tasted delicious.

What had happened? The same ingredients were there, but the process wasn’t quite right, and it changed the outcome.

This got me thinking: life is a lot like baking. We often have all the right “ingredients”—good intentions, necessary resources, the right people around us—but if we rush through things or don’t follow a process that works, the outcome might not be what we expected. Even when things turn out fine, they might not be what we originally hoped for.

Sometimes, following a tried-and-true process is key. In life, just like in baking, it’s important to honor the steps that lead to success. Whether it’s in a relationship, a work project, or a personal goal, when you’ve found something that works, stick with it. Don’t rush it. But when things do go wrong or life forces you to adjust your process, don’t despair—the ingredients you’ve put in, like effort, love, and patience, still matter. Just like my cookies were still delicious, life’s outcomes can still be sweet, even when they don’t look exactly like you expected.

So, the next time something doesn’t go according to plan, remember that both the ingredients and the process are important. Sometimes, a little adjustment can lead to a surprising win. And when it doesn’t, that’s okay, too. The sweetness of life, like those cookies, comes from the effort and care we put into it.

Two Minutes Du Jour:

Understanding Process and Outcome – The Tobin Company, Sustainable Excellence in Business, Sport & Life

Same Ingredients, Different Results – Amelia Rhodes, author of Pray A to Z and contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul