Chaos, order and originality

There is something of a relevant point to this blog, so read on 🙂

I like building things. From wood mostly.

I’m not particularly good at it, but it’s a hobby.
Whilst I like building things, there is hideous mess created in the process – saws, nails and pieces of wood etc get cast everywhere – my erratic and baseless process is more suited to an artist like Picasso, than a precise craftsman of furniture. It’s comically wrong really!
Every now and then, spending half an hour trying to find a set square for the fifth time, I get upset with myself and set a strict agenda to become a tidier and more ordered worker.
This never works for long.
Shortly afterwards, the cycle repeats and the natural process is resumed.
A dear friend is the polar opposite. A meticulous and precise furniture maker, when visiting his pristine workshop, I gaze enviably, wishing to be possessed of his ordered and exact mindset and process.
His work is flawless to my eye and, more importantly, his tools are always exactly where you expect them to be.

“I will become like him” I tell myself.

But, I don’t. And never will. My mind is a scattered mess of ideas and imagination, struggling to find order from the perpetual chaos.
COULD I ever become the precise and meticulous woodworker?
Doubtful, BUT it is certainly possible…on second thoughts, yes, objectively I could. Whilst likely never reaching his level of skill, I could match his level of care and order. Which is why frustration sets in when I don’t.
…but this is actually the wrong question.
“Everything is possible if you put your mind to it. “ Parents shrill in excited tones to children the world over.
We get so caught in this idea, we forget to ask whether we SHOULD put our mind to something.
SHOULD I become the precise and meticulous woodworker? Now, THIS is a better question.
It would take so much of my energy to be something other than what I am (READ THIS AGAIN) all my creativity would be drained – relegated to a second rate version of somebody else. What use is that?
The only thing that is remotely interesting about my approach to woodwork, would be extinguished by a desire to be like somebody else.
My woodwork is 100% original – made from the heart for our family. That’s what matters. And that it doesn’t break. 😂But we can work on that later…
Much like Team Body Project, the workouts are made from the heart for our TBP family. They are flawed and sometimes chaotic, but always filled with authenticity – for better or worse.

Interestingly, nobody has ever criticised us for our imperfections, if anything they’ve applauded us for leaving them in 🙂

There are two lessons we can take here.

Progress not perfection – I will NEVER reach my lofty expectations of precision, order and tidiness, BUT I can do better. I can forgive my flaws and let go….it is OK to be where YOU are, keep trying to improve. Just because you miss a workout, that doesn’t mean you need to stop – as long as you’re doing better than you were, you’re winning…
Better to be a flawed original, than a ‘perfect’ replica – my favourite thing about YOU is what is authentic and original. I celebrate what is flawed and real over what is manufactured but seamless.
If you miss a workout, that’s OK.
If you modify, that’s marvellous.
Be YOU. Be a BETTER you.
That’s what I want for us all.