Overcomplication

The following conversation took place in one of the early episodes of MasterChef this season:

Joe - Mystery Box, Season 5. We start with desserts. What's the biggest mistake we see with mystery boxes like this one?

Gordan - It's one of overcomplication.

Graham - As you get more and more experienced as a cook or a chef, it's all about putting less on the plate. I think here you're going to see people try to add every single thing possible, and we all know that just muddles it.

"You're going to see people try to add every single thing possible, and we all know that just muddles it."

Ouch.  How often do I (do we) do just that?  Try to throw every trick we have, whether it's to impress, to please, or to measure up?

But when we do that, the painting we're trying to compose with our programs or with our lives just ends up looking like the brown, soupy, finger-painted masterpiece of a four-year-old artist.  You know the kind. It might be beautiful to the imagination, but the reality is just a bit of a mess. As Harry Potter observed in the Half-Blood Prince: "Bangs and smoke are more often the sign of ineptitude rather than expertise."

"As you get more and more experienced...it's all about putting less on the plate."

Be intentional.  Keep it simple.  Put less on your plate.

It will be less muddled.

And ultimately, more delicious.