A while ago I read a passage in a book that explained teamwork using a baking metaphor. It explained that everyone is an ingredient in the loaf of bread, no one ingredient is any more important than any other ingredient, and it takes all the ingredients to make the loaf. I really took this passage to heart and was trying to approach my life as an ingredient. The issue? I’m 100% certain I was born to be the baker.

For years, I was a grumpy baker. That didn’t feel right, so I was open to trying something different. The good news is that, in the process of embracing my inner-ingredient, I learned a few very important lessons about being a different kind of baker:

1. When I go to your house, I go back to being an ingredient. I don’t have to be a baker everywhere I go.
2. I listen to the ingredients and honor if they want to be a loaf of bread or a batch of cookies.

My constant challenge as a baker is accepting that there are new ways to bake in the 21st century. I have to pause when I hear myself saying, “Well that’s not how we did it when I was growing up.” But taking the time to understand the importance of each ingredient has, at the very least, allowed me to be closer to the kind of baker I’ve always wanted to be. The kind of baker whose love can be tasted in every bite.