Blog Post #8 - Occupational Well-Being

New Occupation Participation

This week, I have had a slight deviation in my new occupation. When I chose to create macrame at the beginning of the semester, I bought the half-circle macrame wall hanging kit from Hobby Lobby which I completed as my first project during weeks one through four. At that time, I also bought what I thought was another macrame project. After completing a couple projects and coming back to the second kit, it looks like the other project kit I bought is actually a stitch embroidery kit instead of macrame. I hope this is okay for the purposes of this course, but this week I decided to switch gears and start the other kit I bought at the beginning of the semester. I've never attempted a kit like this before, but I think there are some similarities between macrame and this new embroidery kit. These similarities are that both are creative projects which require the use of similar materials and include a specific pattern to follow. I'm excited to get going on this new project and to see where it takes me.

Updated on 10/26: After further reflection, I have decided to not complete the stitch embroidery kit in place of my new occupation of making macrame. I attended a craft fair a couple weeks ago, and there was a booth selling macrame coasters which turned out to be so neat. I am planning for my next project to be a set of four macrame coasters.

Macrame and Occupational Well-Being

As discussed in lecture this week, our occupational well-being is our own perception of our physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics and how we are then able to participate in our chosen occupations as a result of these characteristics. Our perception of occupational well-being can also be independent of environmental and physical conditions, as an individual who is ill or injured can still have a high sense of occupational well-being. At the beginning of the semester, my chosen occupation of creating macrame facilitated my sense of occupational well-being because I was able to engage in a creative occupation which I enjoyed. However, while I still do enjoy creating macrame, only engaging in making macrame as opposed to other projects was creating somewhat of a barrier to my occupational well-being because I felt stuck with not knowing which project to complete next, and I was feeling bored with the techniques I had already learned. Branching out to a similar yarn craft occupation has restored a sense of excitement in my occupation, which has helped my occupational well-being. With that in mind, I would say with continued participation in my occupation, my sense of well-being has fluctuated from a high sense of well-being, to feeling stuck and bored, to now feeling excited once again about my chosen occupation.

Updated on 10/26: Although I won't be completing the embroidery kit I mentioned for the scope of this assignment, I am feeling a similar sense of excitement as I embark on my new project of creating macrame coasters as I was inspired by the local craft fair.

Seven Occupational Needs

Additionally, during lecture we also discussed the seven occupational needs which were associated with occupational well-being. As described within our course lecture, these needs are accomplishment, affirmation, agency, coherence, companionship, pleasure, and renewal. I feel the needs of accomplishment, affirmation, agency, coherence, and pleasure have all contributed to my occupational well-being. I have found a sense of accomplishment as I've completed my projects, affirmation as my classmates buoyed my spirits when I was feeling discouraged about how my projects turned out, agency in having the choice to engage in my occupation, coherence as I felt my new occupation matched with my self-perception of being a creative person, and pleasure as I have enjoyed my macrame projects. I feel the needs of companionship and renewal have somewhat hindered my occupational well-being, as my occupation has consisted of solo projects, and I don't quite have a renewal experience as I am engaging in the occupation of making macrame. There has been some co-occupation as I engage in making macrame while I'm sitting in the living room with my husband, or I talk about my new projects with my mom. Overall though, the majority of the time I spend completing my macrame projects is by myself as compared to engaging in my new occupation with another person.