I have a story about two garages. In the first, the client is excited to finally get their workshop in the garage. They have a meticulous layout of every tool and bench, fully dimensioned and set. As we designed, every decision was second and third guessed. Their builder pushed for what he knew how to build again and again. You can see where this was going, right? There was no way to reconcile what was possible with the existing garage with all that was holding it in place. It remained a garage. In the second garage, the owner had slowly been inhabiting her garage for her creative work. A wall had broken free, the tilt up door had given way and the floor had been overlaid with a thick slab containing radiant heat and was pigmented in a mottle of color. It didn’t take much to release the rest of the garage. Can you feel the difference? In one scene the garage refused to let go, in the other, little bursts of letting go were occurring all around. The first client had occasional flickers of joy in his eyes, but, always, thinking overcame. The second client could hardly contain her joy.
If you want to get new work done, check in to see if you are able to surrender your thinking. This isn’t so much about forcing something because, quite frankly, sometimes you are ready and sometimes you are not. Which garage is yours?
