“What are your flavor of scones?” I asked the girl behind the counter of a coffee shop as I awaited the departure of the morning ferry.
“Plain, blueberry, cheese, cranberry or lemon poppy seed,” she rattled off quickly. It was apparent she has had mornings of practice and was used to dealing with people in a bit more of a rush.
“Was that blueberry and cheese together or two separate flavors?” I asked. In my head, the idea of mixing the two ingredients into one baked pastry seemed like one helluva good idea.
Her face squished up momentarily and I realized that what was a stellar idea in my mind was a little bit gross to her, “Two flavors.”
Selecting the cheese option, I sat down in the waiting room chairs and thought about what kind of cheese would I put in a blueberry scone. Perhaps a brie? Or could you do it with a cottage or cream cheese additive? I jotted down ideas to be tried and tested in my own kitchen.
What the incident revealed to me is the rut that all of us fall into with work. Routines become ruts. Flavors become a memorized list. Time forces us to focus on only what is necessary. All of this takes away from the moments of inspiration, of creative expansion.
Just because it hasn’t been done doesn’t mean something can’t be done. It’s a shift in thought to see what is to what could be.
EXPERIMENT: Take the time to daydream about opposing flavors or ways of doing things to see if perhaps there is a new, combined way that presents the best of both worlds.
What Inspires Me 