Build something new

Recently I found myself with too many tools, bins, boxes and various supplies and needed more space. I drove to Home Depot and checked the prices for their sheds, but soon realized their construction is pretty basic: just a wooden base with a frame, walls and a roof. Simple, right? Not even close!

After months of research, comparing prices, materials, builders, estimates and other complications, I reached a point where I had enough! I decided that the best course of action was to do something scary, walk into uncharted territory and build a shed myself.

I already had some power tools and needed a few more to begin the project. After a few trips to the store, I got to work. Every single step of the way, from the foundation, the base, the walls, the angles, the cuts, leveling, hammering, sawing and calculating, well, everything was scary. I had never built anything this big before, especially all by myself.

Every new stage of the project filled me with doubt, and I had so many questions. What if I build it and it falls apart? What if it ends up crooked? What if I get stuck mid-build and it just ends up looking like an abandoned haunted house? What if it collapses on my head?

But somewhere along the way, something changed. Every small challenge I solved gave me the confidence to take the next step, and every phase felt a little less impossible. The sense of accomplishment and the victory that came from defeating all those little problems opened my mind to ask, "What else can I achieve with this mentality?"

Nothing stopped me from finishing my goal. It was absolutely nerve-wracking to build something that big while thinking about measurements, materials and the possibility of it being hit by strong thunderstorm winds. (I actually waited to post this until the shed survived its first major thunderstorm, and now I can say that I am the proud owner of a very sturdy shed.)

This victory was the result of stepping outside my comfort zone. The lesson here is that even if a problem seems impossible because you have never solved anything like it before, you should still try. You don't need to know how to do the entire thing before you start. You just need to divide the big project into smaller, more manageable challenges and then figure them out as you go along.

In the end, you either give up or you succeed and get to point at your build and say, "Look what I have created!"