I celebrated my half birthday last week — 53 and a half, (highly recommend celebrating half birthdays by the way).

I spent the day baking.

A spiced apple cake with brown butter frosting.

Cookies for school lunches.

The works.

And here’s the thing that still blows my mind: I did all of that baking, with all that raw dough and frosting within arm’s reach, and I didn’t end up feeling sick or out of control.

I had exactly what I intended to have.

I followed through on my plan.

Baking should be one of life’s simple joys. But for so many of us, it’s fraught.

This tiny habit changes that.