I recently made a big change in my life. We sold the house we've been living in for the last 10 years and bought a place out in the country.

Not only has this been a big adjustment on a practical level, but this massive uprooting has reframed the way I see my whole life, past and future.

You see, we each construct a narrative about our lives in our own minds, something researchers sometimes refer to as a "life script". According to Hilde Østby and Ylva Østby in their book Adventures in Memory, we then divide this life script up into meaningful chapters, with milestones marking the boundaries between different parts of our lives.

So when something significant changes in your life, you really are starting a new chapter. You process memories differently and even begin to forget details from earlier life chapters. I started to notice two things:

First, starting a new chapter has inspired me to imagine the future. What will this chapter look like in 5, 10, or 15 years? What will I be like?

Second, moving tends to make you realize just how much stuff you have and how much less you actually need.

These two factors combined to inspire me to take on a new personal sewing challenge. I used the Design Your Wardrobe process to create a queue of 5 projects that I believe I'll wear for at least 10 years. I'm calling it The Decade Project.

In this week's episode of Seamwork Radio, Haley and I talk about this project, and how you can create your own personal sewing challenge. We cover:

* Why I'm taking on this challenge.
* How personal sewing challenges can change your perspective on your identity, life, and so much more.
* Tips for creating your own challenge.