As I’m writing this blog, the guys from ISS are in the process of removing scaffolding from around my house that has been there for almost two years. The reason they’re removing it is because I’m finally finished with it!
Painting my house has been a big goal for me to achieve. It’s a 1920’s bungalow built into a hill with a large basement underneath. It’s never been stripped back, and as a result had many layers of paint that was chipped and peeling off in places. Around the back there had been vines growing on the house that had been painted over without being removed. The gutters were covered in lichen and it looked pretty ugly. I didn’t know if I would ever get the job done, or whether I could make this old house look presentable.
My house painting project felt daunting. Every time I had a day to work on it (mostly on the weekends), I would be filled with dread and overwhelm. I would delay getting started by hanging out drinking coffee with my yoga buddies after Saturday morning class. My yoga friends were probably sick of hearing me talk about it, and wondered if I was all talk and no action. I wondered the same myself sometimes. Another hour would go by after I got home before I was out there in my painting clothes with tools in hand.
Progress felt very slow. Near the beginning of the project, I caught covid, which held up progress for about a month. Then we had rain – a lot of rain – over the next 18 months. Along the way I had to overcome fears – firstly my fear of heights being up on scaffolding and on the roof over the front porch to paint the gables. I had to figure out the best method to strip back the paint where it was chipped and uneven, and then have the patience to strip it back properly and clean up the mess. I definitely needed to learn patience – to take the time to do a good job – and this was a major challenge in itself!
The other major inner battle was with what I would describe as my inner 3 year old who felt helpless and incapable, and would rather do the fun, easy thing than the hard or boring work. I had to remind myself many times, “The house isn’t going to paint itself”.
What helped me make progress was to narrow my focus to the wall or window I was working on. I would finish one area before moving on to the next. I figured out the process or rhythm, and could calculate how long each part was going to take so my goals for a weekend were realistic. And I started to acknowledge my progress using a journal so each month I could see what I had achieved. Acknowledging and tracking progress was hugely motivating to me. I changed my self talk from ‘This is going to take forever!’ to ‘I’m making progress’, and I had evidence to support the fact.
The other thing that made a big difference to making progress was saying ‘no’ to distractions and invitations – even though I was potentially disappointing other people and definitely missing out on fun. I said no to bike rides, bush walks, yoga workshops or retreats, dance parties and workshops, markets, and coffee dates. I even skipped some Saturday yoga classes when I just wanted to get stuck in.
What I noticed as I finished off, that even though ‘done’ was the standard (I’d long since given up on trying to get it perfect), that my workmanship had improved significantly. In fact, when I finished painting the back of the clinic room, which only my neighbours would see, I decided to re-paint the front of my clinic where I’d started because I was disappointed with the standard. So in the last days before the scaffolding came down, I stripped back the clinic windows, re-puttied and painted them, and then gave the whole wall a fresh coat of paint.
So now, the scaffolding is gone and the entrance to my office and clinic is sparkling clean. I can look out the windows at the gardens and greenery, and it feels spacious and calm, and I love it. The end result feels worth the effort.
Over the month of January in Coaching Club, we will be exploring some of the aspects of goal setting to ensure that you’re working on achieving a goal that matters to you. As a group, we will be looking at different motivating forces and how to maximise on them, the journey of a goal and the potential pitfalls and obstacles you’re likely to encounter, and how to gamify your goal to stay motivated and on track. If you want to join this supportive group of self-starters to help you to achieve your next big thing, email me helen@enlightenme.co.nz or click here to book in to the next Coaching Club session. Each session is only $47, or you can buy a 7 class concession for $297.
Otherwise to discuss your specific needs click here to book a free 30 minute Discovery Call.
