The Four Tendencies

Over on Ravelry, someone made mention of The Four Tendencies, and linked to the Quiz. I took it and was not impressed to be labeled a 'Obliger', but as I read more about these groups, I realised it was very true. Although, as people are complex beings, I have might fine 'Questioner' and 'Rebel' streaks. My underlying nature is 'Obliger'.

"Obligers meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet inner expectations. They[re motivated by external accountability; they wake up and think, "What must I do today?" Because Obligers excel at meeting external demands and deadline, and go to great lengths to meet their responsibilities, they make terrific colleagues, family members, and friends."

Because Obligers resist inner expectations, it's difficult for them to self-motivate - to work on a PhD thesis, to attend networking events, to get their car services, Obligers depend on external accountability, with consequences such as deadlines, late fees, or the dear of letting other people down. One Obliger summarised, "Promises made to yourself can be broken. It's the promises made to others that should never be broken." Better Than Before by Gretchen Ruben

Oh! That's me. I recognise myself. And, the brilliant thing is I just need a bit of external accountability, and I'll be able to transfer my inner expectations into outer ones.  I had already started doing that by simply putting up goals on my blog. Doing so made them public, even if no-one reads the blog, it's still out there. Even better has been using the monthly goals threads on Ravelry. I'm able to set some goals, and report back as progress is made. 

The knitted Christmas tree project is an excellent example of this. The idea has been running around in my head for a few years, but it wasn't until I spoke with Ona about it that it became 'something that needed to be done'. She was utterly delighted with idea and very keen it should happen. She knows exactly where to send the finished blankets, mittens and hats. Later, I spoke to Cat, and her eyes lit up. She wants to get involved with publicity, something she is great at. With all of this behind me, I am working on knitting side of things. I'm doing it with determination, with joy. I have planned it so I can make a small knitted Christmas tree all by myself, but after Easter, we are going to launch it properly and hopefully more people will want to join in too.