Motivation and Accountability

As a person who lives with general anxiety disorder and depression, I have days when my energy levels and motivation can be low.  Negative thinking can take over, and the feelings of overwhelm can start me on a downwards spiral. I have talked before about how I need to do what I call  "the Nickie things", and get myself moving in the right direction. But depression and anxiety can make it difficult to have the willpower to do things that I enjoy.

When dealing with these types of challenges the best thing you can do is to be kind to yourself. It is helpful to understand the type of person that you are. Through the wisdom that comes with age (and with help from a good therapist) I have realized that I am a classic "people pleaser" - and along with this knowledge comes the realization that the best way for me to meet any goals, or to have any motivation, is to have external accountability. 

I am one of those people that can struggle with prioritizing my own self-care or personal projects, but I find it much easier to meet the expectations of others, whether it's my boss, family members, friends, or colleagues. 

Because I know this about myself, I find that committing to certain things can be very helpful for me! It gives me that gentle push that I need to get started, and to silence the dark wolf in my head.  For example, I do a monthly pop-up sale at a local restaurant, Barb and Ernie's.  I know that I need to have my arts and crafts made for the monthly sale, so I spend time working on projects for my table. I feel so good when I am working on these things! My batteries re-charge, and I feel positive.  Then I go to the restaurant, see the table filled with all my arts and crafts, and I feel great! 

my table at Barb and Ernie's 

If you have a peek on my sidebar, you may see some thumbnails for some challenges that I did years ago.  Looking back at some of those challenges, I remember how fun they were to do! I think that these art challenges are another great way to have some accountability and motivation to be more artful.

Let me know if you use external accountability to help motivate you to reach your goals! I will be posting some of my completed challenges on the blog, so stay tuned! And if you have any challenges that you participate in, I would love to see them.

Now if you will excuse me, I have some art to do! 

"It's MEEEEEEE!"

When my granddaughter, Evelyn was a wee one, she created this wonderful drawing. With great pride, she announced it was a portrait of her uncle. She was so pleased with it, she even signed it with her signature, as you can see, an E with scribbles to the left.

Such an amazing piece of art, that has graced our refrigerator for the last few years! It always gets a giggle when we tell anyone who notices it that it is a picture of Malcolm. My daughter says that it needs to be put into a frame, so that it can be preserved and honoured for all time.  

Well, I decided to do one better, and pulled out my plush yarn, and my favourite crochet hook, and I created this gift for Malcolm this Christmas:

I decided to make it like a flat ragdoll toy, which made it very easy to do! Using single crochet and simple increases and decreases, I was able to create the same shape.  I created two of the shape, and then stitched them together like a pillow with the red yarn, to duplicate the colour she had used.  I used a slip stitch for extra impact. 

"It's MEEEEEEE!" was the delighted shriek from my adult son when he unwrapped his present.  I think that it may have been his favourite gift under the tree this year! 

And the original artist? She was quite impressed as well. "Grandma, you made Uncle Mal!" 

And yes, I am going to get a nice frame for the original piece.