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Do You Ever Worry About Running Out of Ideas?

October 21, 2014 by Joy the Baker 57 Comments

finding inspiration

Hi friends! New York City has lots of views of walls and windows.  It feels like a mirror with strangers on the other side.

At this weekend’s book signing at The Brooklyn Kitchen (which, incidentally, is an AWESOME place) someone asked me this question:

Do you ever worry about running out of ideas?

Can we talk about this?  For real tho.  For real.

Here’s the calm, cool and collected response to that question:  No way!  I am confident that my brain has an unlimited amount of really awesome ideas to sustain me from now until forever and ever amen.

Here’s the real-life answer:  OHMYGOSH YES!  What if I’m working from a well that I’ll soon reach the bottom of!?  What if that’s real!?

The deal is, creativity and inspiration must be fostered and fed.  But good grief, how do we have time to foster and feed things these days? My cat is fostered and fed because he’s really demanding with his loud meows and untrimmed claws.  My creativity is much less demanding and often gets stomped on by every other more demanding task on my list.  Do you find this to be true?

I try to find inspiration in all of the little moments, the quiet moments, the unexpected moments.  It’s not always grand days or epic meals that provide me with the clearest inspiration.

What’s inspiring me lately:

•  “I’m not afraid of dying.  I’m afraid of not trying.”  THANK YOU JAY Z.  I mean… TRY is everything.

•  I’m traveling right now and the fact that I don’t remember if I know how to navigate Penn Station scares the crap out of me.  I remember that there’s some sort of waiting area then a mad dash to the right train, a long time, and a seat find.  Nerves are inspiring.  They make me see my surroundings more acutely and not breeze by the details.  There is always inspiration in the details (must like there is always money in the banana stand).

•  This new Damien Rice song because sometimes inspiration comes from things that break your heart.

•  I’m working on a book about Brunch so this NYT article about the fall of this most precious meal was very interesting to me.  Can we take Brunch back from the jerks? Of course we can.

•  The Kitchn’s Cooking School is 20 days + 20 simple kitchen lessons.  The simplicity and solid learning is inspiring!

•  Did you know that you can get a freshly fried, sugar dipped donut at Federal Donuts in Philadelphia.  That’s where you can find me for the next three days.  I might even forget what a beignet is. Sugar-high inspiration.  I’m going all the way in.

I’m a person with more questions than answers.  There is creativity and learning in simply trying to figure it out everyday… you know?

Thank you for for joining me on my book tour adventures!  Thanks for coming out and asking me the questions that make you feel weird and vulnerable, because I’m weird and vulnerable too.  I also accept cat-related questions with glee.  I’ll announce my west coast book signing dates later this week!

Love you!  See you at Parkway Central Library in Philadelphia tonight!

xo

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  1. sluttyfoodblog

    January 24, 2017 at 12:27 pm

    This hits home for me. Ironic that I find this post while on a hunt for inspiration. :) Your blog IS very inspiring – beautiful photos and narratives and oh the recipes <3 thank you so much and keep doing what you do boo.

    Reply
  2. The Queen of Dreaming

    November 2, 2014 at 3:46 am

    Great post, I couldn’t agree more with you!!

    https://justsem.wordpress.com/

    Reply
  3. cococakeland

    October 30, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    Joy … i feel like the idea train is an up and down roller coaster of WICKED IDEAS and then a crash of burnt-out I HAVE NO IDEAS LEFT. but then the roller coaster always seems to swing back upward. I love coming to your blog because of how you share not only your food/hee-larious writing but the linkage … you can tell from your links you’re a woman who devours culture, has an ear to the tunes and the happenings of life stuffs, is a woman of today. your blog is the everything: things to look at, drool over, make, listen to and all the links to go ahead and link-labyrinth rabbit-hole read. You are inspiring in your honesty! PS i love the new watery pretty colorful blog header and blog design!

    Reply
  4. Kathleen

    October 25, 2014 at 5:21 pm

    You are a source of inspiration for me! I know you won’t ever run out of ideas. Any chance you’ll add Minneapolis to your tour?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      October 30, 2014 at 6:03 am

      i don’t think i’ll make it to Minneapolis. sorry!

      Reply
  5. Clementine Buttercup

    October 24, 2014 at 3:19 am

    Ideas are thin on the ground when I give in to stress! Living in the moment brings them back! Excited at a book about Brunch! I love having folks round for brunch. I can get creative in the kitchen!

    Reply
  6. Katie P.

    October 23, 2014 at 6:04 am

    Yes Federal Donuts, yes! So glad you found those in lovely Philly!

    Reply
  7. jolisa

    October 22, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    dang girl dang! You switched up on us with the makeover all up in here. Am i late in this? I’m totally late aren’t I..sigh. Can’t wait to get you book!! Congrats on your tour.One day I’ll meet you. One day :)

    Reply
  8. Beth

    October 22, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    As an artist, yes; I worry about running out of inspiration. But one thing that keeps me going is focusing on worrying only about the present projects, not the future ones. Obviously, you sometimes HAVE to think about future projects, schedules, etc., but for every bit of time and energy put into worrying about future projects, it takes from the time and energy of your present projects. Worry does not solve the problems of tomorrow; it only saps the energy of today.

    ~Elizabeth

    sparrowfalldesigns.blogspot.com

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/SparrowFall-Designs/1475218839428278

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/116165865127839647687/posts

    Reply
  9. Natalie

    October 22, 2014 at 10:07 am

    LOVE the Jay Z reference, by the way. And yes, I constantly worry about my creativity dying out and my inspiration coming to a dead end. I like what you said about simply trying as a means to become inspired. I think that keeping an open mind and paying attention to the details as well as the big picture can only help. Cheers to you for your honesty and for chatting about this topic!

    Reply
  10. joanne

    October 22, 2014 at 8:40 am

    I live in Philly and while Federal Donuts is pretty good, I suggest getting a donut from Beiler’s bakery in Reading Terminal instead. FedNuts wins the chicken war, but unless that donut is piping hot, skip it.

    Reply
  11. Courtney @ Neighborfood

    October 22, 2014 at 7:39 am

    Thank you for sharing this! It was such an encouragement today. LOVE the new design by the way. It’s gorgeous!

    Reply
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