There’s a new boutique cookie and Matcha shop a few doors down from my Barre 3 studio that I pass regularly going to and from my car. Sometimes a crowd of a line gathers round it.
On a quieter morning, I peeked at the minimal menu placed in the window, peering into the Japanese style minimalism inside.
The cookies were $9. Nine. Dollars. I’m sure anyone looking out the glass storefront would have seen the visible shock on my face, and may have hear me reflexively yelp ‘What???!’ involuntarily.
I had seen enough. I walked on.
I pass the shop regularly, and I can only imagine I might be shaking my head imperceptively each time I pass it, completely in shock that so many people go in.
My husband is a cookie monster. Correction- he is a sugar monster. He’s an absolute slut for sweet treats and while he can appreciate artisanal delicacies, he will enjoy a box of grocery store cookies all the same.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I were enjoying a day off together and found ourselves in the neighborhood of my Barre studio. As much as I dreaded it, I knew that he would be beside himself at the fancy cookie store, so I led him in the direction.
He was completely non-plussed by the price. When I mentioned the cookies were $9, he was waiting for more explanation as to why this was a bad thing.
We couldn’t be more different in this way- I read every menu starting with the price and he rarely makes it that far on the menu.
At first I wasn’t going to get a cookie at all. Adding another $9 to the bill for a cookie sounded insane since I already wanted to try a Matcha. Their operation looked super legit and I’m a sucker for Matcha and I was intrigued by the options they offered.
But I did it. I added a cookie, and nibbled at my Yuzu Pinenut cookie between sips of my iced Matcha, and had to concede that, well, the quality was pretty damn amazing.
Since our visit there, I’ve popped into the shop to grab a few cookies to go.
What surprised me was how hard it felt to enter the first time, and how easy it felt to go again once I’d already done it once.
Once I’d broken through that initial barrier in my mind, it was astonishingly easy to repeat it.
Now, when it comes to shelling out almost $10 for a cookie, this is not the kind of thing where I want it to be easy and regular. But I’m also noticing the type of ease with repetition in other areas in my life, and those are things that I am interested in doing again and again, and hopefully improving with time.
Doing little things regularly that push past my comfort zone have, over time, been tremendously rewarding.
Posting my first story on my blog, terrified it was poorly written or cringe (it probably is, but who cares?).
Trying my hand with Instagram, sharing travels and promoting stories. It’s anxiety inducing AF. It started out taking way too long, but it’s getting faster and I’m giving less fucks.
And then a few weeks ago, I began a Substack, where I’m bringing over my favorite essays from my blog to hopefully reach a larger audience.
Every first time felt terrifying and paralyzing.
And then each time thereafter, a little bit easier.
I still think a $9 cookie is outrageous. But it’s a damn good cookie made with love and quality ingredients.
And honestly, it’s a fair price as a reminder to keep pushing through discomfort.
