Why not to follow directions

When you bake something or complete an assignment, what do you do? Follow directions, do what you're told, and keep your head down. There is something that always feels right about following a plan someone else laid out. Following directions gets you a safe, predictable (and generally mediocre) result.

There are places you should follow directions, such as the battlefield or the hospital because following directions (usually) keeps you alive at these times. But unless it's a life or death situation, you don't need to follow directions. They were made by someone else, not you. Only you know what you need and how you need to get there.

Make you're own map. Take a risk. Not a big one at first, of course. But a tiny risk will make it easier to take a bigger risk. The last time I was baking sugar cookies, I didn't follow directions. Could it turn out horrible? Yes. But it could also turn out brilliant. So I decided to do it my own way.

I put two eggs in the mix, when I saw some chocolate chips, so I threw them in. Eventually it snowballed into a concoction with a fiber one bar, a peanut butter granola bar, and a pack of (crushed) mini oreos. I baked it about one and a half times as long as it should've been. But they turned out fantastic.

According to the directions, I did everything wrong. I put in too many eggs, baked it too long, put it in the wrong type of pan, and put in too many different ingredients. But according to the people who tried some, I did everything right. So who are you trying to please? A piece of paper that tells you what to do, or the people you care about?

So use discretion with directions.