C is for Creating

I consider myself a fairly creative person - kind of like if Macgyver needed to decorate his house and a new wardrobe he'd call me and I'd show up with my knitting needles and a glue gun. I love to create - not just knit. You might recall my table from August. We use it everyday and still love it. These are the kind of projects I love the most - the ones that are useful from day one and continue to be useful for many years. Many of my knitting projects are like this - I use them for years and hopefully some of the knitted gifts I've given are used for years.

When I'm creating I go through a mental process of seeing a need or desire, brainstorming on how to best meet that need, planning, and then executing my plan. Sounds simple enough, but can take anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple months.

I've been thinking lately a lot about goal setting, bucket lists, etc. Today's project with my sons is actually going to be sitting down and having each of them write down 10 things they want to learn more about and 10 things they want to do someday. The boys are 5 & 7 and I have to admit I got this idea from a friend. I think it will teach them a lot about goal setting and it will teach me a lot about my boys - what a great way to get to know them more deeply. And I can't wait for us to look back at everything in a year and see what we've accomplished and write new lists.

So what about me? What are my goals, creative and otherwise? Today it hit me that I should try to shape myself the way I shape my projects - find my need/desire (in this case a mental picture of my ideal me), brainstorm on how best to become that person, plan, and then execute. I feel closer to the person that I want to be than I ever have been before. Kinda cool. But I know there's a lot more I want to do/be/feel. And I know that this vision will change over time, but what better way to honor who I am now and who I want to be than intentionally planning how to become that ideal me? It's really exciting in a way - rather than drudge through things, I'm going to create the person I want to be.