5 Reasons To Never Stop Building Stuff

We’re in this frantic process of getting our house ready to sell.  In the last month I’ve built a gate, hauled dirt, remodeled a bathroom, fixed a broken lock, patched walls and painted.  So many of these are projects I have put off for the past nine years since we purchased our house.

Oftentimes when I work on these all-consuming projects I view them as a break from my day job and fail to see the common tie between the two.  To miss this tie is to miss a key ingredient for fulfillment in both work and life.  Whether it’s drywalling a bathroom, or crafting something out of wood, or creating a process to establish a consistent way of doing things, or connecting meaningfully with a customer, or bringing together a growing team of people under a common purpose, we are building something.  And building stuff is incredibly fulfilling.

Here are just a few aspects of building that are critical to consider:

Building is Purposeful

Whether it’s a vision of a finished home improvement project or perhaps a major goal at work, it’s essential to have a clear vision and understanding of where you are headed.  Otherwise, the finished product could look awfully weird.

Building is Unifying

In the case of the home, it’s exciting to work with my family toward a new bathroom.  In the same way, it’s exhilarating to work together with my colleagues to build something great at work.  In customer service, you get the opportunity to build a meaningful connection on every call.  Literally, your projects last 10-15 minutes.

Building is Learning

If you’re anything like me, you live on YouTube during all phases of the building project.  Part of the fun is diving head first into a project and consulting with an expert in the event that you hit a dead end somewhere along the way.

Building is Improving

With every new project completed, we attain a new set of skills and experiences that help us improve for the next project.  I’ve hung several doors in my house.  The very first doors I hung were a set of french double doors.  I should have started small with a closet door in the back of the house but I didn’t.  Instead, I learned many lessons of what not to do when hanging doors and I’m better for it.

Building is Accomplishing

It is so incredibly exciting to accomplish something.  I just brushed my teeth in a sink that I installed.  Listening to a group of customer service professionals deliver awesome customer service over and over again in accordance with the vision and service standards we agreed upon–that’s an accomplishment.  Our brains are wired to get a huge shot of dopamine every time we accomplish something. (Don’t quote me on that scientific claim)

So, you think you are just talking to a customer, or just fixing something in your home, or just building a relationship with a friend?  Think again.  You are actually in the process of building something great and that is something to dive headfirst into and get really excited about.  Are you just plodding along, or are you building?

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