Sunday, December 2, 2012

Not just a coat of paint!


I just painted four rooms in my house, four rooms that were in dire need of paint on the walls. It’s the final leg in a complete renovation of my house, which started back in 2004.  Yes, I move slowly, but after doing a kitchen, master bath, wood floors, new roof, etc., I needed a break both mentally and monetarily.  Through the years, I haven’t always been in love with my home, for me, it was just a big nuisance, and at times, an expensive one. Nevertheless, I made the decision to complete the final items here that were long overdue, starting with finishing these last four rooms.  I brought in a color coordinator, we decided on paint colors, and I hired a painter.  The walls were so badly beat-up, the painters spent two full days just patching and plastering.

Friday evening, I arrived home and I couldn’t wait to see how it all turned out.  As I moved from room to room, admiring the painter’s handy work, I was so pleased with the outcome; I wondered why I had waited all these years. I mean, I could have been enjoying these rooms, this house. I felt a complete attitude change come over me.  As I sit here in my living room, typing these words, I’m completely in love with my house, perhaps for the first time since I originally purchased it.

It’s a coat of paint people! 

This got me to thinking. Such a minor change, yet, it set me off on a completely new and positive direction. Imagine, making a minor change in your life, and what new paths it might offer for you down the road. 

Forget the big stuff for now, that job change you have been contemplating, or moving to another city, I’m just talking here about making minor changes.  I have found that even small changes in your life, the way you do things, the way you interact, can have a profound effect on the quality of your life and plant the seeds for a more happy and fulfilling journey. Simple changes can make a big difference. Perhaps buying some new clothes, or a new suit.  Drive to work taking a different route, get on a dating site, or bring your wife flowers.  Give an old friend a phone call, take a class, or start eating healthy. In your job, perhaps branching off on a new idea, making a few extra phone calls each day, or start setting up more networking lunches. 
Get out of your routines, or perhaps, do the opposite of what you always do.  See what happens.

Stay happy my friends…….trust me, life moves fast, you blink and a chunk of it is gone……A friend of mine said, rightly so, “if not now, when?”