This post might upset you.
Fair warning.
I’m going to talk about excuses we tell ourselves and how to do away with them and make progress.. if that’s what you want.
And I say “if that’s what you want”, because I fully realize that some folks are comfortable in the ‘whine and complain zone’ and have no desire to get out.
If that’s not you, I hope this post will get you unstuck and moving in the direction you want to go in.
So The Husband and I are in the middle of renovating our kitchen. This is what it looks like as I’m writing this post.
Hot mess express and it won’t be done anytime soon.
But the renovation isn’t what this post is about, it’s about what happened loooong before we lifted a single paint brush.
Briefly, my husband and I bought this house in 2010 and renovated the kitchen to its current state, but it was never completed. We worked on several other turn-of-the-century homes in the last eight years and neglected to finish ours. The kitchen needed a ton of work. Two years ago I was fed up with our living room, so we restored it (monster project), a year ago we renovated the dining room and I decided in 2018, the kitchen was going to be done, once and for all.
When I sat down to tell my husband I wanted to set a goal to get it done this year, the first question we had to answer was- how are we going to pay for it?
Time and expense were my biggest obstacles. And they were what kept me saying “I’m never going to get this kitchen done,” over and over, for the past eight years.
I’m a Debbie downer by nature. Been that way most of my life. I have to work hard to be positive and focus on what’s possible rather than what is. But I knew if I didn’t set this goal and didn’t start working towards it, my Negative Nelly words would come true.
So we set the goal.
I did a Facebook live announcing what my goal was and asking to be held accountable.
As soon as I got off the Live, I thought, what the heck did I just do? This is going to be a ton of work and I have no idea how we’re going to pay for it! Lol
Leap….
In my teens and early twenties, I was living paycheck to paycheck. Most would say I was poor. But I never felt that way. Why? Because I learned even at a young age (I have no idea where from) that I could save up for anything in the world that I wanted.
Anything.
There were times in my life that I was only able to save $5 a paycheck after expenses.
And by expenses I mean, rent, food, toiletries, car insurance and gas.
That was $10 a month towards savings.
Slow progress is still progress.
When people tell me- I wish I could renovate my __________________. I always want to quote Mr. Hunt who says- “Decide what you want, decide what you’re willing to give up for it, set your priorities and get to work.”
Decide what you want, decide what you’re willing to give up for it….
Even if you’re on a very fixed income, you can still save a little bit towards your dream kitchen or bathroom etc. You can also do like we did and take on extra work, sell/flip stuff on eBay and craigslist and (gasp) go without renting movies/buying magazines/eating out/vacations/buying clothes/shoes/handbags/expensive coffee, etc. so you can have the home you want.
See, there’s something that happens when we set a goal. When we put away the excuses, we start to figure out ways to accomplish that goal. When we write it down and put it in a visible spot we start to think about what we can do, or stop doing to make that goal a reality.
Even if it took you five years to save up the money for _______________, in five years you’re going to get to enjoy the benefits of your hard work, perseverance and delayed gratification. Or you can NOT work towards that goal and keep complaining for the next 10, 20, 30 years. It’s always your choice.
I urge you to stop saying- I wish. And leap… set a goal and find a way to make it happen.
You know what area in your home drives you nuts, what are you willing to give up for it?
How long are you willing to save up for it?
You can get pissed at the world because what’s her face got a new _______________ or you can decide to go after what it is you want and make it happen.
Back to my kitchen
I’ve done enough renovation projects to know the big sense of satisfaction I will feel when it’s all done, but this one will be different. Because this one was a huge leap of faith for us. We set a goal that we had no idea how it would be achieved, when we set it. We put our minds together, scrimped and saved, worked our butts off and we’re making it happen.
Is/was it easy? Heck no.
But it will be worth it.
And so it will be for you.
“Decide what you want,
decide what you’re willing to give up for it,
set your priorities and get to work.”
-H. L. Hunt
If you set a big goal for yourself, home related or not, or if you’re working towards a goal you set some time ago, tell me about it! I would love to hear your story.
Blessings on your home,
Catrina
See, there’s something that happens when we set a goal
