I wanted to burn down the house, but Elder said, “No!”.
Did you ever start something, then wish to God you hadn’t?
(If yes, I’ll share something important later that will fix that feeling)
Back to the story…
The expenses were more than I anticipated. The repair work never ending.
I was halfway through the whole house restoration project when it occurred to me, I would be so much happier if “an accident” were to happen.
Gas leak, carelessly placed solvents or rags. Hmm?
My mind was drifting to mayhem when The Elder wisely stepped in and grabbed the reins.
“Look at all the great work you’ve done already,” he said calmly.
“You made great designs, great plans for this house; you’re making steady progress. Have patience. You know how these things are. Always more costs than anticipated. Always more time needed. You’re at the mid-point now Bob, you know how you get.”
For all the havoc The Elder wreaks on my physical body, his wisdom is often a Spring cleaning for my mind. “The voice of experience” I call it.
He was right. He knows me well after all these years together. I get this way on so many projects.
I get halfway through and want to quit.
Reminds me of that motivational story where the kayaker sets out to cross the lake. After paddling for what seems a good long while, he loses sight of the shore. Exhausted, he panics. Should he press on, not knowing how long that will take? Or should he make the safer choice to go back? He knows how long that will take and how much energy will be required. Long story short, he decides to take the known path and heads back to where he came from. Little did he know, he was already 2/3 the way to the opposite shore.
It would have been better to have continued forward.
Hindsight is an amazing tool. And available to no one in the present.
After Elder’s scolding, I thought long and hard about the many important tasks I had taken on over the years and realized there was a predictable pattern to them:
- Start all gung-ho
- Lose steam midway, then
- Feel great when it’s all completed!
I even put together a graphic to depict this. It hangs on the wall over my desk even now.
I’m sharing it here with you, in the hope that it might help you get over the challenging humps in your life too.
Feel free to download it, copy or share…as long as you don’t alter the contents!
Remember, don’t burn down the house, or throw the baby out with the bath water!
Whatever that means to you. Elder’s parting words as he nods off to sleep,
forcing me to finish this post by myself.
We all hit the wall sometimes. Runners do, artists do, writers do, you do.
The key to success, growth, and that almighty feeling of accomplishment is to push on through!
“Bene Vivere!”
ElderBob Schwarztrauber
P.S. I did push on to finish that house restoration. It sold at the first open house for a profitable sum. Thanks Elder, for keeping my conscience clear and my (our) body out of the slammer!
Feel free to download, print, or share the helpful graphic below…
