Posts Tagged ‘stress’

It’s Christmas Eve and I woke up with this blog post on my mind.  We would all agree that a Bigger Ben is not necessarily a Better Ben.   Intellectually, we would all know this and yet I add the extra helping of [insert whatever is on the table] every time I sit down to enjoy a meal.  This to me is a sign of stress in my life.  Here’s the fundamental question, “Did God mean for what I’m building to be such a burden?”  Is building a life for my family supposed to be so stressful?  Life is filled with hard work, it is difficult, and sometimes we even get bumps and bruises along the way.  But maybe the extra stress is my doing.

I want to pause so you can know exactly where these ideas came from.  Yesterday I listened to a podcast of a sermon by Rob Bell spoken to a group of protestant church leaders where he talked about bigger churches not necessarily being better churches.  You can link to it here.  This post is how his talk applies to my life.  I give him the credit for his study and inspiration, yet I retain all the liability for what is said here.

A lot of us in these last few years have not experienced life according to our plans.  The company did not meet this or that benchmark.  Working more for less.  House project isn’t done.  Compare ourselves to our neighbor, friend, whomever and there is quite often stressful dissatisfaction.

In an honest moment I can admit that is me coveting something.  You and I both know that coveting is spoken about in the Ten Commandments.  But what I just learned about the 10 Commandments is the other 9 commandments can all be witnessed – Bowing down to another god, murder, lying, stealing, resting one day a week – but coveting, that is primarily a hidden sin.  Here’s a thought though, if we truly live out the other 9, God gives us Not Coveting as a gift.  When we love God, and love our neighbor as ourselves, we Love Who We Are.  When we love who we are, we do not want what anybody else has.   This is a teaching for us today, not when we have accomplished all that we dream possible in the future.

Here are some more questions for our stressed out lives.  When was the last time we took one day off a week for rest?  When was the last time we were truly present with our families?  When was the last time our spouses got the best of us versus our leftovers?  When was the last time we played with our kids without the distraction of a cellphone call?  These are the reasons why growing our companies and living our lives is so stressful.  May these next few days of Christmas fill us with renewed purpose – that our lives are wonderful to live when we live in the way we were designed to live.

5 Minutes, Less Stress

Last Wednesday I tripped over something at the bottom of our staircase down to the basement. I needed to bring up all the Christmas decorations and what was before me felt like a sea of stuff in the basement. Emotions I dare not share welled up inside me and I went on a 5 minute power clean. I didn’t call a family meeting, I didn’t ask for help, I just started stacking and sorting.

Why I share this is because it felt so good! You, my friends, may experience the same bliss I did from spending 5 minutes on your basement. Maybe even make it your goal for the winter to totally clean out your basement. It is our goal, and now that I’ve shared this with you I will benefit from the power of your accountability, and you may benefit by joining me in your own winter de-clutter.

My favorite part of the basement is the Donate section. We have so much cool stuff that we no longer use – the weight bench, foosball table, the small steelcase desk, and the bag full of 33″ pants that I ain’t ever gonna fit in again. Happy de-cluttering.

Warmly,

Ben Thompson

When your cupboards feel packed it’s time for a cardboard box and a marker.  What is this for?  It’s to put all the things you haven’t used in the last 3 months into said box.  Then write the contents on the box and DATE the box before putting it into storage in the basement.  Many benefits will come of this:

1) You’ll free up cabinet space – if you can see what’s in your cabinets you will use what’s in them.

2) The streamlining process reduces stress (it’s subtle, but when you experience it you’ll appreciate it.)

3) You don’t have to throw it away immediately.  Many of us have an emotional reaction to throwing something away.  “What if I’ll need this someday?”

4) Power comes from labeling the box with the date.  Let’s quantify “someday.”  The next time you get up the courage & energy to clean your basement you can approach the boxes in your basement with a plan.  You’ll go through the boxes that have been sitting on the shelf longer than 1 year.  It still has some value, but just no active value to you because you haven’t used it in a year.  So donate [or sell] the contents of the box so others in your community can pit it to use.

5) I love surprises – and when you go back through that box, you’ll find something you just cannot live without and you’ll take those few items out of the box and put it back in the kitchen.  An example could be the waffle maker you put in the box, and that rediscovered waffle maker will cause a new Saturday morning tradition.

I promise that clean and organized cupboards will help you love your existing kitchen.  Try it out.

Ben currently gives a multi-media talk on the subject of Remodeling vs. Moving titled, “Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?”   Contact Ben for more information 616-942-1866 or Ben@ThompsonRemodeling.com.  Below is some more specific information from the National Association of Home Builders.

REMODELING VS. MOVING
Courtesty of NAHB

If you want to change your home, your other option besides remodeling is to find a new one. But more and more American families are deciding to stay put and improve their existing home. Here are some of the reasons:

• Remodeling allows you to customize your home to meet your needs and desires. The only similar, but much more costly alternative, is to have a brand new custom home designed and built.
• Remodeling means that you don’t have to give up a familiar neighborhood and schools.
• Remodeling is a more efficient use of your financial resources. According to the American Homeowner Foundation, selling your home and moving typically costs about 8-10% of the value of your current home. And much of this goes into moving expenses, closing costs, and broker commissions – items that have no direct impact on your home’s quality.
• Remodeling can be stressful, but few experiences are more stressful than moving.

While there are many reasons that people choose to remodel, the bottom line is that remodeling makes your home a more enjoyable place to live. The intangible value of this pleasure needs to be considered, along with any resale value you hope to gain.

But there is no doubt that, as far as improving the sale of your home, all remodeling projects are not created equal. The general rule of thumb is that any remodeling project that brings your home up to the level of your neighbors’ is a worthy investment. But it doesn’t pay to be the most expensive house on the block – real estate experts recommend that a remodeling investment should not raise the value of your house to more than 10-15% above the median sales price in your neighborhood.

Remember that potential buyers will compare your home to ones newly built. Therefore, you’ll want to look at the design trends and amenities being built into new homes. Great rooms (open kitchen/family room arrangements), master bed and bath suites, and higher ceilings are a few of the features sought by today’s home buyers.

Each year, Remodeling magazine conducts its “Cost vs. Value” report to assess which remodeling projects create the greatest return on investment. Not surprisingly, kitchens and baths regularly come out on top. These are two of the most used rooms in the home, and they receive the most scrutiny from potential buyers.

For more information about this item, please contact James Lapides at 800-368-5242 x8451 or via e-mail at jlapides@nahb.com.

Small business owners are some of the most passionate individuals I have ever met. During three days of doing a case study and SWOT analysis on another Design/Build company and reporting to and working with 10 other remodelers from all corners of the united states I can tell you that if I were a car I was simultaneously standing on the gas and the brakes. I was both dog-tired physically and mentally my head was spinning.

I find that when I am conflicted, DOING something helps get all the kinks out. Kristin is the most amazing wife in the world. After three days of fabulously intense meetings I walked out of the hotel in Sacramento to a wife who had brought me a 2006 Ford Mustang. Silver paint, black ragtop and leather. What a way to work out stress!

20 hours over two days we snaked our way up highway 1 and 101 from coastal vistas, into the redwoods, back out onto the coast. It was absolutely a trip of a lifetime. We met up with friends in Portland, stayed with them three days, and experienced one of the Northwest’s finest cities. Wine tasting, fabulous dining, a massage, farmers markets, climbing waterfalls, and time well spent reconnecting with close friends.

I mentioned that small business owners, especially us remodelers who invade our clients homes, put on the full mantle of deconstructing and reconstructing their homes, constantly under the microscope…well, we’re passionate about the work we do and you don’t make it in this business if you don’t like your clients. Intensity needs to be balanced. Rejuvenating ideas gained from peers who have walked many miles in our shoes and a few days of rest and adventure keeps my motor running.