Blog Post #10 - Macrame and Self Determination

Paw Print Macrame Project Update

I had a minor setback in my macrame project this week when my husband informed me that our puppy had chewed the end of the dowel I was using for my project, so I had to move all the cord I had tied onto a new dowel. Luckily, it was simple to do, and I didn't have to cut fourteen new pieces of cord. It is unlike my dog to chew on things that she is not supposed to, but I did find it ironic that she would have done that with the project that will be a paw print. I don't have a picture to upload for this week because my project looks essentially the same as last week, except that all the cord is on my new dowel.

Self Determination, Motivation, and Autonomy

As discussed in our course lecture this week, self-determination refers to a person's ability to make decisions for themselves about their own self in a way that is independent and which impacts their life. For me, the concept of self-determination plays a role in my occupation of making macrame because it was my own decision to choose to create macrame. This decision was independent from the outside influence of others, except for the fact that I needed to choose a new occupation in the first place due to the outside influence of this project assignment. Creating macrame is impactful to my life because I have to plan what projects I would like to complete, get the material for the projects, and then spend time actually "macrame-ing". The fact that this is an assignment also adds a level of motivation for me to want to work on my projects each week. Additionally, since I have the self-determination and the choice to participate in creating macrame, this adds to the level of motivation I have to work on my new occupation. If macrame was something that somebody else was asking me to do which didn't align with my values or self-determination, I would be much less motivated to do it. Also discussed in our course lecture this week, autonomy is derived from self-determination in that it (i.e., autonomy) is a state of independence and agency over our own choices and allows us to be self-guided. Autonomy relates to my new occupation because I am able to self-guide the choices of which projects to complete and I have the agency to decide if I am going to do macrame or not.

Comments

  1. Katelynn SwearnginNovember 9, 2022 at 8:08 AM

    Hi Alyssa,
    It sounds like your puppy knew you where making something that might have represented her. I think she wanted to even add her own touches. I know you have talked about it in other post but do you think that you feel so motivated because you also see yourself as a creative person? I think your personal connections to macrame is amazing.

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    1. Alyssa ShirleyNovember 11, 2022 at 2:19 PM

      Hi Katelynn, I definitely agree with you that Artie wanted to add her own touch to the project! Honestly I think most of the motivation I have for this project at this time comes from the fact that it is a homework assignment. With all of our projects for our other courses, it has been difficult for me to find the motivation to want to complete macrame other than knowing I am graded for it. I definitely think that I chose the new occupation initially because I do see myself as a creative person. During less busy times of my life, I think I would complete macrame more so from the motivation of being a creative person. Thank you for your comment!

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  2. Tristin CameronNovember 9, 2022 at 8:14 AM

    Hi Alyssa,
    My dog does the same thing occasionally, they seem to chew on the things you would least expect. I also found it ironic that you're making a paw print and thats the one she decided to chew on. Other than self-determination is there anything else that motivates you to create macrame? If not, is there something else that could possibly help motivate you? I'm excited to see your finished project!

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    1. Alyssa ShirleyNovember 11, 2022 at 2:25 PM

      Hi Tristan, it sounds like our dogs are pretty similar, lol! I think at this point in the semester, my main motivation for creating macrame is for the purpose of our blog post prompts and knowing we will need to write a paper about it at the end of the semester. I'm hoping that during less busy times in my life, I will find more internal motivation instead of the external motivation of completing an assignment. Thank you for your comment!

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