I am excited about the space I created in my home office to cultivate the proper energy and muse to stimulate creative thinking. I wanted meaningful artifacts to surround me, yet clutter-free to lessen distractions. I chose the color green because it is my favorite color and represents new beginnings and renewal. A month ago, this same space was where I worked from home on my job. At the end of the workday, I recall just wanting out. I didn’t look in its direction or walk past the room until the next day at 8 am. Now, I am looking for a retreat and a happy place. I want to come to work and have it feel like something other than work. I could share more about that, but this blog is really about the process of arriving here.

My husband and I were contemplating hiring a painting contractor to paint our entire house; after pricing out services, we decided that we could paint some rooms ourselves and save a few dollars. “Besides,” my husband said. “You won’t learn anything if you don’t paint some rooms yourself.” But of course, I didn’t want to hear that!

Now that we are at the finish line, I will admit he was right. While removing the painter’s tape, I noticed that paint had bled through on some parts of the wall, around the trim, where I taped. On the other hand, the areas where my husband taped were darn near perfect- no traces of paint in places where it wasn’t supposed to be. At that moment, I recalled advice from a wise sage.

Trust the process.

Do you have a project, a dream, or a task that you want it done? Are you procrastinating because you perceive the job as overwhelming or need help understanding how to get where you want to go? Do you wish it was magically complete? I know I have felt that way many times. I encourage you to trust the process, don’t skip steps, and learn something so it gets easier the next time you embark upon a journey.

Here are the things I learned from our office painting project.  

• Trust the vision. You may encounter delays or turbulence during the journey, but you will reach your destination if you keep going. 
• Preparation is everything. I cannot recall who said this, but it is worth repeating here. “The teacher will appear when the student is ready.” So, get ready! Before we started painting, we needed to prep the area: tape the trim, cover the window, clear stuff out of the way, take all the pictures down, patch up the holes, and cover the floor with drop cloths. It took me a while to start because I wanted to avoid the preparation. I was even impatient with the prep my husband carried out. Go figure!
• Patience. Take your time, plan your work, and slow down to ensure you take advantage of all the steps in the process. On my side of the room, I noticed I had long strips of tape around the trim, I should have sealed the tape better and used shorter strips to ensure the proper coverage. I was impatient. I wanted to get to painting. Right! Big mistake. Now my husband has to backtrack and clean up my mess. Take your time. You can have a sense of urgency for getting to it, but take your time once you start, and have patience.
• 4. Trust the process.

“Process transforms any journey into a series of small steps, taken one by one, to reach any goal. Process transcends time, teaches patience, rests on a solid foundation of careful preparation, and embodies trust in our unfolding potential.”

Dan Millman

You got this!