Like Dissolves Like: to make life easier, first make it harder

When I’m down on my luck, the best pick-me-up is something that gets me even lower on my luck: knitting. I mean, how hard can it be? Old grandmas do it all the time!

The first step to this stress-relieving hobby is to get horribly overwhelmed by the options of what to make. Something small will feel more rewarding more quickly, but comes at the cost of taking at least seven hours (even though it was described as quick and easy on the ever-deceiving Pinterest). I could always start a larger project, so I can always have something to come back to, but the real joke of it all is that I’ll never come back to finish the project (the unfinished pile of teddy bears is starting to become no joke..).

The second step, although it may seem easier than the first, is so hard that it makes your problems feel small in comparison. The process is so tedious, it makes any sane person question why they’d even begin doing this: picking a color of yarn. It’s hard not to be fooled by its premise: I get control of the situation by picking a color. The only thing it truly does, however, is leave me overwhelmed about what to choose when my own selection is so underwhelming. It’s only a miracle and a flip of a coin that allows me to settle.

The only thing left to do now is start, but by picking a hobby that’s even more difficult than my own problems, I can successfully face my problems head on instead of even starting to knit. It’s easy! I can just think to myself: well, at least I didn’t choose to deal with this, unlike how I chose knitting.