Living with the decisions we make. Part 3: Interesting week

 

It was an interesting week.  Unlike most weeks I thought very little about this blog and what I was going to post.  Usually as the week progresses a number of ideas pop into my head.  These ideas quite often make it into my weekly post.  For some reason this week very few ideas arose.  I was wondering if ideas were coming so rapidly that I did not have time to consume them.  I toyed with the going back to carrying a note pad and pencil.  That way I could quickly jot down any random thought that came into my head.  I could then review these when I had time to more fully understand them.  I decided however to review my last week and came to a different conclusion.

To begin with it seemed like a more fulfilling week than normal.  This is highly unusual since my wife was away for an extended part of the week.  Even after 40 years of marriage (40 this year actually) I still miss her when she is away.  this usually leads to a period of time of just going through the motions.  You cook, eat, clean, sleep, repeat until she is home.  I did experience some of this this week.  Since she was only 15 minutes away (she was on a retreat) I was able to drive over and pick up her car and get it to the shop for an oil change. Recalling this started me thinking about the rest of the week.  I also got my truck into the shop for the yearly inspection.  Along with that goes all the red tape to get the registration renewed.  I also finished 2 books this week.  My greatest accomplishment was finishing my bike barn.  The bike barn is pictured above.

I had not completed a project of this scale in quite a while.  The biggest issue with it was that I had to build it to fit into a confined space.  I also had to make sure it was big enough to house 2 bikes.  I had very like margin for error.  No plans existed for the specific size I needed so I used a rough outline and got started.  Progress at times was slow and I had to make a few alterations as I got deeper into the project.  I did get hints from Youtube videos.  It is finished and my bikes fit!  Most importantly, the bikes no longer clutter up my workshop.  It seems that getting things accomplished was my theme for the week.  I realize that oil changes and book readings are not life altering events.  Getting them accomplished and "off my plate" was in a small way liberating.

What does my bike barn have to do with living with our decisions?  Quick story,  many years ago I was at a business seminar and the presenter started to analyze the phrase "the good old days".  The presenter recalled his son asking why they call them "the good old days".  His son found this especially puzzling since microwave popcorn did not exist in the good old days.  The presenters premise was that the old days were good because they were over and done with.  There was no uncertainty about them.  They are done, over with, the results are in.  It does not matter whether the outcome was good or bad.  There is no conceivable way to worry about something that has already taken place.

Living with our decisions has very little to do with the outcomes.  It is more about our follow through and our desire to get stuff done.  In short accomplishments help us live with our decisions.  One of the standard tactics in dealing with big projects is to break it into smaller steps.  Accomplishing each step leads us to the next step.  It gives us confidence.  If we think about the decision to save money and we set a goal of  an emergency fund of $20,000.  We would usually break it down into realistic monthly contributions.  I can imagine the difficulty of that first month  making the decisions of not spending money.  I can also imagine the happiness of the first contribution and how it motivates you to carry one through the next month.

I relate this all back to building my bike barn.  I would have a somewhat firm idea of what I would want to accomplish each day.  For example, Day 1: build the base and floor, Day 2 framing and so on.  Because of weather issues there may be a couple days between days.  I would have the next days build constantly on my mind.  I would be questioning each step, each cut and every screw placement.  In short worrying about the next days build.  In most cases I was dealing with lumber that cost less than $10.00, although a few pieces were in the $50.00 range.  So a mistake was hardly a major issue.  The big box Home improvement store is a mile from my house.  If I look at big decisions the same way it has to be very difficult to proceed when the stakes are much higher.

I am realizing that living with our decisions has very little to do with the outcomes. Living with our decisions is about the accomplishments within those decisions.  Fortunately it is up to us to address the steps to achieve our goals and accomplishing the steps that lead us there.   Look for and celebrate your accomplishments.  Outcomes will occur.