Facing Reality

I have a house. A BIG house. It has a lot of rooms. It has a large lot. What I had before would probably fit into 1/3 of my basement. When I bought this house, I loved it! I immediately took to tending to its needs- finding the best neutral Benjamin Moore colors, installing hardwood floors in two bedrooms and the family room. Outside, I was creative with my platings. All was well until...

My windows started leaking, I mean really leaking! Not every time it rained, just when it was "driving rain". They leaked inside, and since they were floor ceiling windows, leaked onto the sill and down onto my beautifully installed hardwoods. And they. Still. Leak.

Then, my basement flooded! My sump pump failed. Miserably. Then Home Depot failed. To have a sump pump with all its parts. During a crazy storm. My big basement's Berber carpet had to be removed. I cried like a baby. Don't judge, until it happens. And by the way, you don't think if you have a sump pump failure rider until it fails. One quarter HP piece of plastic. Never again. And no, I didn't have enough insurance. Geez!

I started to regret buying the big house. I started to regret loving the house enough to purchase it. I hate floor-to-ceiling windows. That leak. I hate below grade basements. They should only be for pools, since water loves hanging out down there.

So I installed a cast-iron sump pump, and a backup too. For a brief moment I felt like I won this battle. I had the windows that leaked repaired. But I should have known it wouldn't last, especially when the contractor said, "we hope we fixed it. But you know, windows are so tricky, the only way to definitely know is to remove ALL the siding (the wall is 20ft wide)". So I resolved to hope for the best.

Then I wondered if the problem was fixed. It wasn't. The windows leaked all winter, and I have towels that have taken up permanent residence in my family room. Nice, I know!

And my house makes a lot of noise. If walls could talk, I would ask them what else was installed improperly.

So,what does this have to do with greatness redefined, with coaching you to be your best self? I'm not giving up on my house. And the contractors who did shoddy work- I believe in karma. The reality is, I'm not a DIY'er and not an original owner, so I have no recourse against poor craftsmanship. But when I take a look at this house for what it is, a solution to lack of space in my condo, I was able to afford the mortgage and down payment because I planned for it, that I'm learning way more about houses than I ever thought possible, and at the end of the day more space is really not all it's cracked up to be.

Whatever your reality is, that the dead-end job you're at may not appreciate you, that you're not getting raises any time soon, that if you don't start watching your portions you're going to balloon, that he or she really doesn't love you, that the time is NOW to start living/loving/giving/exercising/being, own it. Appreciate it. Respect it. Change it. Because if you don't, the only one to blame is you. The resources are there. Coaches are there. Everything you need is there. Go get it!