A number of years ago, I purchased a commercial property that needed significant renovation. The entire project took about five years to complete. During those five years, I made approximately 24,352 trips to Home Depot. Ok, I made that up – but it seemed like that many. It was so many trips that I could get in my truck, put my mind on auto-pilot, and eight minutes later be getting out of my truck and walking into Home Depot.
It was a great system until one night my wife and I were going out to eat. We left the house and eight minutes later…Home Depot parking lot. Before I realized what I had actually done, Sarah assured me that we were NOT going to document trip number 24,353 prior to our dinner date.
I unwittingly ended up at Home Depot that evening because I had travelled that same route many times before. I simply became conditioned to end up there. Guess how I conquered my “illness” – I eventually sold the property. Do you think I went back to Home Depot to buy supplies for that place after I sold it? Not a chance. (I go to Lowes now!)
My leadership journey has been similar to my Home Depot experience. I frequently end up smack in the middle of a problem or challenge that I have experienced many times before – only to wonder, how did I end up here…again? It’s often a place (or habit) that I had no intention of returning to. Swore I’d never repeat. Made a pact to avoid it at all costs. (Sarah has made that pact about Home Depot – and Lowes!) Yet, here I am!
The problem is that we don’t kill the destructive habit or behavior once and for all. We keep it alive. The process that is outdated and no longer producing. The low performing team member. And the reactive behavior we’ve struggled with for so long. We keep them alive because they’re familiar. Because the pain of dealing with it seems greater than the pain of putting up with it. Because of fear and of the unknown.
So – today is the day! Put it to rest! Have the stinkin’ funeral already! Get over it – quit going back!
What is it that you need to put in the past and walk away from? Comment below and let us all know – we’ll celebrate the funeral with you!
Hi Michael:
From my perspective the reason you went to home depot so many times was because you wanted to fix the property yourself. At first it seemed a great challenge to be able to fix it yourself but eventually you learned that it was not worth your time and effort. Just the other day I remembered why I left the corporate world. I was exhausted from running million dollar accounts by myself and taking on most of the work because I must put out exceptional work. I left in 2010 and for two years I kept getting offers to come back but I chose to keep moving forward because my passion and what I truly love to do was never there. Now that I have found my passion and I am starting my own cyber coaching practice and writing career I don’t plan to continue doing it all myself like I am used to. Once I am able to afford it I plan to delegate by hiring professionals to help me accomplish the goals I have already thought about and set for myself. I am purposelessly making time for my health and my well-being which both which were non-existent in my previous work life.
It sounds like from that experience you learned that home renovation is not for you. Personally I have tried so many different things in the past four years in sort of the same fashion. There’s no way to know until you try it! Sometimes it is the knowing of what we are not good at, don’t have the expertise, or are not passionate about that leads us to our life’s work. The road to self-fulfillment is never clear cut and the lessons to help us discover ourselves come disguised in many different forms.
Have an amazing day and thank you for sharing!
Regards,
Mayra
Thanks for sharing part of your story Mayra! I love what you said, “The road to self-fulfillment is never clear cut and the lessons to help us discover ourselves come disguised in many different forms.” – so true! Enjoy your week!
ha ha, yeees, can so relate! This is perfect, as I sit down to catch up on my finances and sort them out, backed up AGAIN after months of ignoring it.. Perfect timing, now I need a new system and way to look forward to doing it timely so that it’s not such a hassle and nightmare. Would love to put this bad habit to rest.
Great to hear! You might consider spending a few minutes developing a SIMPLE system. Write it out – what are you going to do? When are you going to do it? Be specific – this is important. This post may help too – http://michaelnichols.org/get-better-results. Enjoy your day!
Oh wow!!!! Kimmie…thank you for sharing that with us on Facebook! That is so encouraging… If you feel comfortable, please tell your boss his experience strengthened my relationship with the Lord through regonition, repentence and encouragement! Kesha
Thanks Kesha – and you have been an encouragement to me. Thank YOU!