When I skate I'm rewarded with applause, and when I knit no one claps for me (that would be awkward). However, the feeling of successfully completing a difficult knitting project is very similar to the feeling that comes from the applause at the end of a show. Sometimes the satisfaction of completing a knitting project is even more gratifying because the audience will still clap if I didn't perform my best, but I'll only feel fabulous about my knitting if I did it perfectly.
The rewarding feeling I get at the end of both activities isn't the only similarity between the two; I use my brain the same way while I'm doing each one. What happens is I fall into a level of concentration where I shut out outside distractions, I quiet all of my usual internal chatter, and I focus solely on a mantra-like internal monologue. When I'm knitting, I chant the pattern in my head to the rhythm of my knitting "knit two, purl two, knit two, purl two…" When I skate it's something more like "one, two, push, extend, left arm, out…" I absolutely love this feeling of internal quiet and concentration because my thoughts are usually pretty chaotic and scattered if I leave them to their own devices.
So even though the differences between my two favorite activities are countless, they both make me feel and operate in the same way internally. I challenge you to take a deeper look at the activities with which you fill your life, and I'm willing to bet they won't be a series of disconnected pieces either. There will always be a common thread, and if you can pinpoint that thread, you'll know what it is that you truly enjoy in life.
What do you love to do?
xoxo
Laura
