Build your toolkit for life

Tools and working facilities for life

In preparing to be our own life mechanics we need to recognise that mechanics usually need to have tools and a garage. In other words, there are some preparations that need to be made to practice.

Building a toolkit comes at a cost. For the mechanic, that cost is money in purchasing their tools, but for us as DIY life mechanics the cost is more personal. As we build our toolkit and begin to make changes this might feel challenging, uncomfortable, or even painful. We will have learned to respond in certain ways over a lifetime and retuning these ways will likely take the cost of perseverance and discomfort. To use the words of U2 from their song You’ve got stuck in a moment:

You gotta stand up straight, carry your own weight …

As for the garage. Well, we do need to create an environment around us in which we can work. That could be just a case of finding somewhere that you can think free of distraction. It is said that the mother of the father of Methodism, John Wesley, used to throw her apron over her head to find space to read her Bible in a household which was overflowing with children.

Workshop safety

You are going to be creating your own workshop in the sense that you oversee your own life and how you choose to live and change it. However, it is important to acknowledge the boundaries of self-help. We can expect working on ourselves to be challenging and uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t be damaging.

There is no failure in recognising our own boundaries, and this idea is amplified even further in terms of our own self-protection. All of us need the help of others. To quote another song, Mother by Sugarland:

She’ll take you in, feed your friends. Her open arms are welcoming … [She’ll] Hold your fear and all your worries.

So, don’t hesitate to reach out to others for support on your journey. This may be friends or family. It may also be professionals such as a counsellor, life coach, therapist, or doctor. We all need the help of others at times, and this is a sign of strength and commitment to growth rather than failure.

One such place you can find this help is through the authors own private life coaching practice:

Planned maintenance

Finally, remember, living life well is a life-long learning process. So, at the start of this manual, consider how you can make reviewing your life a regular activity so you can, realigning it with your ideals and realise your desired changes. Make it as natural as planning the service on your car, not just waiting for repairs, but being proactive in your own life maintenance. This could involve:

• Some time each day when you reflect on how things are going
• Some time each week when you learn something new
• Some time each month when you explore a new life adventure
• Some time each year when you take time out and be refreshed

How you plan your service schedule isn’t what’s important. The important thing is that it’s realistic and works for you. With this in mid, how you use the rest of this manual is up to you. Feel free to use it as a six-session course, but equally, feel free to use it as a maintenance manual to dip into when needed. The key here is that you are taking ownership for your own life as you become your own life mechanic.

ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO ACCESS THE LIFE GARAGE

Remember, you can also complete The Life Garage as a course or purchase our Life Garage Mechanics Manual. Fore more information about the variety of ways you can access The Life Garage click here.

References

You can read more about these songs in two of my blog entries:

• You've got stuck in a moment by U2
• Mother by Sugarland

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