I grew up in two different homes. They were not extravagant but they were very functional. The most functional part of these homes is that they both had garages. We weren't really a DIY family, but a lot happened out in those garages. It was a cool place for three brothers and their neighborhood friends to play, yard work originated from there, efforts to repair stuff took place (not very successfully...), and my first attempts to workout and develop as an athlete happened in the garage. Looking back on it, there was a general theme in our family garages; lots of activities were tried, abandoned, re-birthed, quit, and some were even productively finished (not many though)
Now that I've owned two homes and both have had garages, the theme continues for my family but at a much greater level. My wife is an extremely talented craftswomen tackling insane DIY projects. We have no lack of power tools and my wife has spent a ton of time using each one. Any stereotype that women do not use tools and men do use tools is effectively destroyed in my home. I'm an insanely committed fitness geek. My garage is outfitted for fitness to say the least. All three of my children have picked up various versions of each of those traits. Trying happens every single day in our garage and every now and again something actually works out.
There's just something about a safe space outside of the eyes and judgement of others to go give something the good 'ol fashioned try. Consider this: Amazon, Whole Foods, and Apple all began in garages. Those humble beginnings for industry-altering companies began as passionate people just giving it their best efforts. They were trying, failing, and trying again until momentum took over. We all need 'garages' in our lives. We need designated space and time to freely try, fail, and try again. It will be very hard to produce uniquely valuable work professionally or personally if we don't.
Because important work needs to be uninterrupted. I picked up my phone 114 times the other day. Sound like a lot? That's about the average for a smart phone user. It is also insanely distracting! Dr. Cal Newport has authored an entire book, Deep Work, advocating for the ability to focus through distractions as the most critical skill for the future. Garages in our lives allow us to block out distractions and work on something uninterrupted. When I step into my garage to train, I close the door, and the world disappears. It is in many ways a mental and emotional sanctuary.
Because important work needs to be un-judged at first. We all exist in a 'highlight' reel society. Large amounts of the media we consume are the one best effort of an individual and even those are doctored up sometimes. As a result, we shy away from persisting in efforts that do not yield immediate success. We struggle and immediately assume that we are wasting our time. We are judging ourselves or concerned that others will judge us. Garages in our lives have a way of shielding us from judgement. They are spaces that are dingy, ugly, raw, yet full of resources and free of judgement. Important work takes time. Important work needs feedback but does not need judgement.
Because important work can gain unstoppable momentum when it is uninterrupted. Jim Collins, in his New York Times best seller 'Good to Great' describes sustainable, meaningful progress as a fly wheel. A fly wheel is a massive gear that requires enormous effort to get moving. After time and with enough 'leaning in' the fly wheel begins to spin and it cannot be stopped. It's just too big and too heavy. The momentum of a spinning flywheel is unstoppable. This is what happens when you lean into work in your garage that is uninterrupted and un-judged. You gain unstoppable momentum and can see work produce results that only could have happened in the atmosphere of a garage.
A garage in our lives can be early morning hours, late night hours, a home office, an actual garage, a basketball hoop in the backyard. A 'garage' is really any space were we can just shut out the outside world for a while, think clearly, and tackle things that matter to us. There are two things that I think we all need to do. We need to know where our garage is and we need to go work in it every day. Go get in your garage!
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.
Now that I've owned two homes and both have had garages, the theme continues for my family but at a much greater level. My wife is an extremely talented craftswomen tackling insane DIY projects. We have no lack of power tools and my wife has spent a ton of time using each one. Any stereotype that women do not use tools and men do use tools is effectively destroyed in my home. I'm an insanely committed fitness geek. My garage is outfitted for fitness to say the least. All three of my children have picked up various versions of each of those traits. Trying happens every single day in our garage and every now and again something actually works out.
There's just something about a safe space outside of the eyes and judgement of others to go give something the good 'ol fashioned try. Consider this: Amazon, Whole Foods, and Apple all began in garages. Those humble beginnings for industry-altering companies began as passionate people just giving it their best efforts. They were trying, failing, and trying again until momentum took over. We all need 'garages' in our lives. We need designated space and time to freely try, fail, and try again. It will be very hard to produce uniquely valuable work professionally or personally if we don't.
Here's why garages in our lives can be so valuable...
Because important work needs to be uninterrupted. I picked up my phone 114 times the other day. Sound like a lot? That's about the average for a smart phone user. It is also insanely distracting! Dr. Cal Newport has authored an entire book, Deep Work, advocating for the ability to focus through distractions as the most critical skill for the future. Garages in our lives allow us to block out distractions and work on something uninterrupted. When I step into my garage to train, I close the door, and the world disappears. It is in many ways a mental and emotional sanctuary.
Because important work needs to be un-judged at first. We all exist in a 'highlight' reel society. Large amounts of the media we consume are the one best effort of an individual and even those are doctored up sometimes. As a result, we shy away from persisting in efforts that do not yield immediate success. We struggle and immediately assume that we are wasting our time. We are judging ourselves or concerned that others will judge us. Garages in our lives have a way of shielding us from judgement. They are spaces that are dingy, ugly, raw, yet full of resources and free of judgement. Important work takes time. Important work needs feedback but does not need judgement.
Because important work can gain unstoppable momentum when it is uninterrupted. Jim Collins, in his New York Times best seller 'Good to Great' describes sustainable, meaningful progress as a fly wheel. A fly wheel is a massive gear that requires enormous effort to get moving. After time and with enough 'leaning in' the fly wheel begins to spin and it cannot be stopped. It's just too big and too heavy. The momentum of a spinning flywheel is unstoppable. This is what happens when you lean into work in your garage that is uninterrupted and un-judged. You gain unstoppable momentum and can see work produce results that only could have happened in the atmosphere of a garage.
A garage in our lives can be early morning hours, late night hours, a home office, an actual garage, a basketball hoop in the backyard. A 'garage' is really any space were we can just shut out the outside world for a while, think clearly, and tackle things that matter to us. There are two things that I think we all need to do. We need to know where our garage is and we need to go work in it every day. Go get in your garage!
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few
degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school
sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated
most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
Comments
Post a Comment