my Year of Yes

Things I’ve wanted to do for years are finally appearing at the top of my list. It’s like my Bucket List has become my To Do list. What on earth is going on?

This winter I hit a really rough patch of burnout and realized that I needed to pull back all the bits of myself that I had invested in different organizations and people around me. I spent a few months doing very little, setting no goals, and avoiding the word ‘should’ like the plague. In that space, there was a spark: the DesignAlong contest hosted by A Playful Day podcast.

This wasn’t just a chance to have a bit of publicity for a pattern if I won, it promised a real leg up for a new designer. Yarn support from Fyberspates. Technical editing from Kate Atherley, author of the excellent and useful Pattern Writing for Knit Designers. Advice from Kate of A Playful Day, who works in the knitting/yarn industry.

It was a reason to try and, above all, a reason to overcome my Someday Syndrome. There’s more to publishing a cowl pattern than just making a cowl and the scope of that, combined with my what it takes to publish a good pattern, was always enough to keep me away. Once I broke through the ‘someday’ barrier, it seemed like everything in life was trying to make it clear that now was the time for me to say yes to a bunch of things.

I’m publishing.
I’m looking into podcasting.
I’m learning to challenge myself without overdoing it.
I’m starting to say no to (even good) things so that I can say yes to the life rhythm that is best for me.

Are you doing anything that used to fall prey to Someday Syndrome? Is there something you need a push to start doing?