None of us can be great at everything. None of us can even be good at everything. If you want to talk electrical systems, say, or computer coding, or the ins and outs of Lepidopterology, I'm decidedly not your man.

But there are things I'm reasonably accomplished at, and… surprise...they're things that I also enjoy: writing, teaching, mentoring, researching, and cooking, to name a few.

Even within a given field we enjoy, few of us have every aspect of that field mastered. Someone might be a good country music bass player, for instance, but this doesn't mean they can quickly make the switch to playing jazz bass. Sure, some of the language and concepts are the same, but there's a fair amount there -- a feel, in musical lingo -- that you just can't fake. And no amount of bass playing guarantees you're going to be good at some other form of stringed instrument playing (say, guitar), to say nothing of music-making in general: drums or brass instruments or singing.

One's proficiency and proclivity at a certain thing (like bass playing), or a subsection of a certain thing (country music bass playing), often comes down to one thing: a passion for it. A high-average hitter in baseball studies pitchers and adjusts their swing to make consistent contact, as opposed to a power hitter, who, by swinging for the fences, necessarily whiffs every now and again. Neither is necessarily better, they're merely different. They're using the same tools in different ways to get a desired effect.

Take cooking. By the same token, a great pasta cook doesn't worry themselves with not being an expert at making, say, waffles or Bánh mì. They do what they do and make the kind of food they like to eat, and don't worry about it. It's where the old ordering advice comes from: when at a seafood restaurant, don't order the hamburger (and vice versa).

Now, as life continues, you may find yourself drawn down all sorts of other culinary paths, which is great! But you can't walk but one at a time, so, to begin with, it is wise to go with that which feels comfortable to you and excites both your hunger and your heart. What do you really like to eat? How much time do you have in which to cook? What do you have in the way of ingredients or implements to cook those ingredients? Being honest with yourself before you begin a practice will help you to avoid many potential roadblocks down the road.