Confidence/Comfort/Happiness and some FO's too!

One thing I like about the human brain is they way it finds patterns and meanings in things. I'm a few years removed from my Anthropology classes so I'm not going to go all Social Science in here, plus this is a blog about cats and knitting so, like, deep thoughts only get a couple of paragraphs a month if ever. I have a tone to maintain and I choose for that tone to be light and happy and usually knitting related.

Or, you know, Harrison Ford related

Sometimes you pick up on different facetes of an issue and it can feel like there's a conversation going on about the things with which you find yourself concerned. It's  like once you know someone who is pregnant it seems like all you see are pregnant ladies: these things were always out there but once your brain is stuck on it, you notice it like you hadn't before.

I recently read this article and while I found the whole thing very interesting, the point that struck me the most was #10 about confusing comfort with happiness. Even as I was reading the article I thought, "Well, yeah, I'm happy when I'm comfortable," thus proving the author's point.

"Comfort sells easier than happiness. Comfort is easy. It requires no effort and no work. Happiness takes effort. It requires being proactive, confronting fears, facing difficult situations, and having unpleasant conversations."

Then I thought of how happy I feel when I accomplish something I thought I couldn't. The other day I ran for 20 minutes without stopping and I felt fantastic. But definitely not comfortable. I have really intense driving anxiety and when I arrive at my destination I always feel exhilarated that I did something that scared me so much. Not comfortable while it was happening, but fulfilled that I did it. So: touche, Mark Manson.

Then I read this blog post by Meredith (if you're not reading her blog, you really should, it's wonderful). She just finished her "Blogging for Confidence" series wherein she challenged herself to do things that made her uncomfortable.

"I don't think I even realized it, but I had no idea who I was until I started confronting my fears head on."

As I read over the things she had done for her challenge, I had a moment of envy. "I could knit in public, I do it all the time! I could go to movies by myself, that doesn't scare me," thus totally and completely missing the point. It isn't about the exact thing you do, it's about challenging yourself. It's about the fulfillment you get when you do something that is hard or scary for you.

Back to the idea of patterns: there are a things going on right now for me that are challenging in a three separate areas of my life. It's all too tempting to want to back off, or go back to sleep, or to give in to feeling overwhelmed and not act or to try to get Meredith to do the things that scare me while I do the things that scare her. But it's worth it to forge on ahead, feel some discomfort and hope for some happiness. I love it when life aligns like this, that when I'm facing challenges, my brain makes connections that allow me to see issues in a whole new light.

End seriousness. Have another picture of Harrison Ford as a mental palate cleanser.

Anyway, the real pattern to be celebrated is the pattern of weeks and weekends (I know, it was a stretch, shut up), and it's Friday, so here are the O's I've F'ed this week (do you all know that FO is knitting speak for Finished Objects? NOW YOU DO.):

All my dishcloths are falling apart so I made myself some more!

This is a sample for one of my JoAnn's classes: it's a cable stitch of the month pattern.

I put the finishing touches on another bag. I love using a different color for the handle.

Have a great weekend, everybody! I'm headed up north for some sun and sand and as little internet as possible! What are you up to this weekend?