I would say Pinterest, YouTube, and my stubbornness is the root cause for all of the DIY projects I take on. I always think that doesn’t look too hard I could do that. Why would I pay someone else to do something I can do? I am always learning new skills. I like to do things myself. I enjoy a challenge. During every COVID lockdown, I was motivated to paint something in my house. To take on a new project. To be clear I wasn’t fully locked down. I still had a job to report to. I absolutely freaking love to paint. I have repainted my house a few times over. Fresh new paint makes me happy.
During the first official lockdown, you couldn’t get tinted paint for whatever reason so I painted every ceiling. I was doing my yoga and meditation one morning when I looked up and noticed a spot on the ceiling above me that spiraled and lead me to wander my whole house looking at the ceiling. I was convived they all needed a fresh coat of paint. Painting ceilings is easy for me because I am tall and can reach the ceiling. I have painted a ton of ceilings for people over the years. I always volunteer to help paint. I don’t know why but I find it soothing and so rewarding when it’s done. Zen-like moment to stare at the new paint.
During another lockdown, I decided all the trim surrounding my windows and doors every single one needed a new coat of paint. One coat never covers what you want it to so it quickly became two or three. I repainted every door. I laughed thinking of all my hard work and not one person noticed. I think it really made the new windows stand out. How simple things can make me so happy.
This last lockdown is when I went all out. When I moved here I repainted my kitchen however with zero knowledge I went about it all wrong. I didn’t do any type of research I just sapped the paint on over the old and hoped for the best. With time it slowly began to peel and reveal flaws. Staring at the cupboards coming apart has been driving me mad. I have covered up most cabinets with fun flamingo stickers to hide the flaws but I lose sleep over this project. I knew it had to be done. I have no idea why I thought a good time to start was in the middle of a cold Canadian winter. This has been dragging on for months. Now with spring having arrived, the windows are open and I am running 2 heat guns. The goal is to finish the paint stripping by the end of April. Then onto sanding. cleaning, priming, and painting. I have given myself a deadline and I am working hard to reach it. I cannot wait to see the final reveal. I am not expecting anyone to notice my hard work but I know I put it in and I will be proud.
The many hours I have spent paint stripping got me thinking a lot about how removing layers of paint, and relieving what’s under is a lot like a self-help journey. When I decided I needed to change the way my life was. I didn’t just wake up slap on some new “paint” and declare myself a better person. I didn’t hold myself together with fun flamingo stickers. It took years to figure out what made me this version. Why was I so negative? So unhappy? Why did I attract the same sort of people into my life? What could I do differently? Like this renovation this time I have done a lot of research I want to ensure the paint is removed correctly and reapplied so it doesn’t come apart. Same with self-help I wanted to go on a journey of finding myself and having the changes stick. I wanted to become the best version of myself. I wanted to fall in love with myself and the life I created. I wanted to be proud of myself and all of my accomplishments. I wanted to celebrate this feeling and help people going forward in my journey. I will forever be a work in progress. I am forever learning and changing. I am doing what I love to do.
Self-help means you have to put yourself ahead of anyone else. I don’t mean this in any selfish way I simply mean if you don’t help yourself you cant help others. You need to take time and work on yourself. I spend some time each and every day for myself. I make myself a priority. I spent years creating the best version of myself. I am proud of all the hard work I accomplished and the changes I made. Today I am living my best life. I make time for myself. I am making changes to make each and every day the best I can. Make each day as comfortable as you can. I create positive memories. I am doing my best.