Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Pre-Hindsight

Or: Why I Will Knit More Sweaters This Year

I read an interesting article the other day which discussed the role of emotion in rational goal-setting, or as we call it on New Year's Day, making resolutions. If you want to pay $4,000 you can take a three-day workshop. If you want to pay $0, you can try this free tip (from the article)and see if it works for you.



  • Pre-Hindsight:  Use emotions to evaluate how likely you are to succeed at a goal. Imagine that, six months from now, you have not achieved your goal. The level of surprise you feel at this outcome is a good predictor of whether you will actually succeed.

So, I imagined that six months from now I would have not completed even the one sweater for myself that I started in February, 2013. Did I feel surprised? Hah! I say: Hah!

Since I really would like to complete that sweater, and maybe one or two others, or a few pairs of socks, I had to think about what would be getting in the way. I didn't have to look any farther than  my ravelry projects page. I'm heading in to 2014 with three WIP's:  two half-knit sweaters and about 5% of a pair of socks. That seems like not very much to accomplish in six months, doesn't it? Wrong! I say: Wrong!

Wrong, that is, unless I stop choosing to knit and crochet scarves and their sneaky cousins cowls, infinities, and shawlettes. Wrong, unless I keep the mix of projects in progress from overbalancing toward the cute little quick items that can really pile up and give a not very satisfying sense of accomplishment. 

When I look in my closet do I think: gee, I wish I had another scarf. No! I'm afraid to count the ones I have. What I think is: gee, I wish I had a sweater that wasn't all pilled and good for nothing except slouching around the house or sneaking out to the trash bin with yesterday's papers. I wish I had a sweater in a flattering color. I wish I had a sweater that fit me. 

Then I go back to the knitting chair to work on another cowl. Well, not this week at least. This week it's all red sweater all the time. Check in next Wednesday to see what happens. For other current progress, see Tami's Amis.

In the meantime, best wishes for 2014!




2 comments:

  1. I'm with you on that. I am now on the collar of a sweater I started Fall of 2013. Ignored is the sweater started Jan 2013. And the sweaters I started in 2003, 2005, 2007, which I really can't say when those were started since it's been so long. Resolve is to work on more sweaters, less shawls! Yes, they are my downfall. But in there I do need to work on 3 baby items, 2 sweaters and 1 blanket, and a wedding shawl. But those are for near and dear to my heart nieces. So they get a pass. Here's to our sweater goals!

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  2. Yes, the near and dear ones always get a pass here, too:) Expect to see a couple of really big infinity scarves before too much longer.

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