Like a plant that starts up in showers and sunshine and does not know which has best helped it to grow, it is difficult to say whether the hard things or the pleasant things did me the most good.
~ Lucy Larcom
Yesterday morning, upon awakening, I put on my bathing suit. It felt cold and damp.
The day before I had started my morning cold plunges. I do daily cold immersion in the fall and winter.
The swimsuit hadn't been hung out to dry properly. Feeling discomfort and second-guessing my decision to go into the lake, an empowering thought crossed my mind—we do hard things.
I often hear our daughter utter those words when her toddler struggles to accomplish a task.
Building a garage
Growth and comfort do not coexist.
~ Ginni Rometty
We are building a garage. There will be some living space above it.
Construction projects can be a major challenge for novices. So many decisions to make. So many unforeseen costs incurred. They can stress any marital relationship.
In the fall of 2019, when we started to build the cottage we are currently living in, my husband was in the midst of cancer treatments. We had just sold our family home and temporarily rented a townhouse. Plans to move abroad were put on hold. The pandemic hit. We couldn't sweat the small stuff.
Although we are pleased with the outcome, this time, we aspired to make more informed decisions. Working with the original builder with whom we’d developed a good relationship, we ventured forth with ambitious intent.
Besides keeping the cars snow-free in the winter, we wanted to add living space for a growing family.
It has been hard to wrap our heads around the increased expense of building material over the past five years. We expected the garage to be a small fraction of the cost of the cottage.
Closing thoughts
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
~ Albert Einstein
As we enter the autumn of our lives, we can become stuck in our ways. We seek to reduce stress. But, embracing the discomfort of a challenging project, and reframing it as an opportunity to grow, is wise.
When we do hard things, the sense of mastery acquired becomes energizing and empowering, instead of draining and debilitating.
Rather than focusing on scarcity, we have been challenged to develop a mindset of abundance.
Comments