By Paula Renaye
I loved Home Improvement when it first came on and still enjoy watching the reruns. Although it generally seems that Tim is an idiot, he really isn't. He actually knows his stuff on home improvements.
However, he's also a competitive know-it-all, which trumps everything else and leads him down the stupid trail. I just watched him use a chainsaw on the Thanksgiving turkey. Not a great decision, Tool Man.
How about you? Do you use the right tool for the job? When you need a hammer, do you use one or do you grab whatever's handy and make do? Ever used a knife instead of a screwdriver? Used a screwdriver instead of taking the time to track down a chisel?
Okay, let's be honest here (yes, it's unpleasant, but let's do it anyway), I have done all of those things—knowingly and on purpose. I knew what tool I needed, I just didn't want to bother. It was easier to just make do and move along.
It's pretty easy to see how using a knife for a screwdriver can go bad—really bad. But even if your poor choice doesn’t result in major bloodletting, it can still make a mess that's not so easy to correct.
The same is true for personal choices. If you keep using whatever quick fix is handy to "get by," such as partying, platitudes, shopping, sex or silence, there will come a point when either the “tool” breaks or you get hurt—probably both.
When you don’t speak your truth the first time the situation comes up, you’re basically setting the countdown on a time bomb. You may think that gritting your teeth and pretending it doesn’t matter is making things okay. It isn’t.
You can’t fake happy on an energetic level—people know, especially those closest to you. So, either you’re going to explode or the other person will from feeling something is wrong but not knowing what.
And, the longer you let it go, the odds of the words coming out in a kind and compassionate way diminish to about slim to none. Also, once you don’t speak your truth about one thing, it becomes harder to speak it about anything.
When we’re struggling with a situation or relationship, we sometimes think we’re the only one who’s unhappy. That may be the case, but more likely the other person is just as unhappy. Both people are just “making do” instead of using the right tools, such as honesty, communication, consideration and compromise, to fix the real problems.
Are you better at self improvement than Tim is at home improvement? Are you taking the time to use the right tools for the job, or just making do and hoping things will fix themselves?
Sure, do like Tim and go for "more power," but only in a wise and good way. It makes living your joy so much easier!
Paula Renaye is a certified professional coach, life transformation speaker, regression hypnosis practitioner and award-winning author of the newly released Hardline Self Help Handbook. Visit http://hardlineselfhelp.com for details and more self improvement tips.
I loved Home Improvement when it first came on and still enjoy watching the reruns. Although it generally seems that Tim is an idiot, he really isn't. He actually knows his stuff on home improvements.
However, he's also a competitive know-it-all, which trumps everything else and leads him down the stupid trail. I just watched him use a chainsaw on the Thanksgiving turkey. Not a great decision, Tool Man.
How about you? Do you use the right tool for the job? When you need a hammer, do you use one or do you grab whatever's handy and make do? Ever used a knife instead of a screwdriver? Used a screwdriver instead of taking the time to track down a chisel?
Okay, let's be honest here (yes, it's unpleasant, but let's do it anyway), I have done all of those things—knowingly and on purpose. I knew what tool I needed, I just didn't want to bother. It was easier to just make do and move along.
It's pretty easy to see how using a knife for a screwdriver can go bad—really bad. But even if your poor choice doesn’t result in major bloodletting, it can still make a mess that's not so easy to correct.
The same is true for personal choices. If you keep using whatever quick fix is handy to "get by," such as partying, platitudes, shopping, sex or silence, there will come a point when either the “tool” breaks or you get hurt—probably both.
When you don’t speak your truth the first time the situation comes up, you’re basically setting the countdown on a time bomb. You may think that gritting your teeth and pretending it doesn’t matter is making things okay. It isn’t.
You can’t fake happy on an energetic level—people know, especially those closest to you. So, either you’re going to explode or the other person will from feeling something is wrong but not knowing what.
And, the longer you let it go, the odds of the words coming out in a kind and compassionate way diminish to about slim to none. Also, once you don’t speak your truth about one thing, it becomes harder to speak it about anything.
When we’re struggling with a situation or relationship, we sometimes think we’re the only one who’s unhappy. That may be the case, but more likely the other person is just as unhappy. Both people are just “making do” instead of using the right tools, such as honesty, communication, consideration and compromise, to fix the real problems.
Are you better at self improvement than Tim is at home improvement? Are you taking the time to use the right tools for the job, or just making do and hoping things will fix themselves?
Sure, do like Tim and go for "more power," but only in a wise and good way. It makes living your joy so much easier!
Paula Renaye is a certified professional coach, life transformation speaker, regression hypnosis practitioner and award-winning author of the newly released Hardline Self Help Handbook. Visit http://hardlineselfhelp.com for details and more self improvement tips.
1 comments:
This post is sort of funny in the sense I was just asked if I appeared on Tool Time. It was a joke, of course, and because of the story I just put on my blog. Enjoyed the post. Donna
http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com
Post a Comment