I have lived with family almost my entire life—first my birth family and then my own family—with only a few years during my time in university when I lived with non-relatives. Living with loved ones has always inspired me to make good food. There's nothing quite like food to bring busy people together around the table. And I enjoy the positive feedback from family on the food I make.

But I probably wouldn't have become a good cook and baker if I didn't love food myself. The first person I please with my food is me.

And it isn't just the final product that gives me pleasure; it's the process itself. The act of taking ingredients, laying them out in order, combining them in precise (and repeatable) proportions, and cooking or baking them so that they become greater than the sum of their parts is both calming and fulfilling.

I wish I could apply the philosophy of doing creative ventures to please me first and others second to areas of my life beyond cooking. In truth, the more effort I put into something (think chocolate mousse cake versus grilled cheese sandwich), the more accolades I expect to get. When they don't come—after a meal or after an extraordinary effort such as a thoroughly researched blog post—I sometimes feel let down.

But seeking external validation can be a fool's game. In his most recent weekly newsletter, Atomic Habits author James Clear quoted Jesuit priest Anthony de Mello:

"You must cultivate activities that you love. You must discover work that you do, not for its utility, but for itself, whether it succeeds or not, whether you are praised for it or not, whether you are loved and rewarded for it or not, whether people know about it and are grateful to you for it or not. How many activities can you count in your life that you engage in simply because they delight you and grip your soul? Find them out, cultivate them, for they are your passport to freedom and to love."

So if you do something creative, do it first for you—not for the praise it may garner, not for the rewards you might receive, not for the attention and gratitude you may get. Do it because it delights you, because it feeds your soul, and because it allows you to express the love you have in your heart.