“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to
conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
— Dale Carnegie, writer, lecturer and self-improvement expert
For nearly the past month, my house’s only bathroom has been in a state of disarray, as I tackled the DIY part of a remodel, including tearing down and replacing one wall, cutting and installing paneling, baseboards and trim, painting, hanging wallpaper and more. I’m not sure how it happened, but one day, it was 100% unthinkable for me to take on this kind of project, and the next day, I woke up and had a fully formed plan in mind and made my first trip (of many) to the hardware store.
The last time I used power tools was in shop class in eighth grade (i.e., some time in the mid-’80s), but all of a sudden, I was cutting paneling and drilling holes. I’ve long been fearful of heights, but the 12-foot-high ceilings had me balancing on the second-from-the-top rung of a stepladder, one hand braced against the ceiling as I carefully painted along the top of the wall. At some point, the fear dropped away and the sheer joy of getting the thing done took over. And with each small job put behind me, each pending job seemed more doable.
Yesterday I put the finishing touches on this phase of the project. If you’d shown me a picture a year ago, I would never have believed the results came from my own effort. Is it perfect? Far from it. But I’m happy with the results, and even happier with the new skills and confidence I found in getting it done.
All of this is simply to say, if you’ve got a daunting project in your sights, take a deep breath, gather your wits (and supplies, if needed), tap your network, and go for it!
Recreation, sports and fitness facilities come with their own share of challenges, from maintaining the physical spaces themselves, to hiring the right team, to getting people in the proverbial doors. And sometimes those challenges can take you out of your comfort zone. But there’s no time like the new year to dedicate yourself to the effort of breaking through those self-imposed barriers and leveling up your knowledge and skill. The process might not be linear (mine certainly wasn’t), and you might need to take a pause from time to time to learn something new (I certainly did), but like Dale Carnegie said, “Action breeds confidence and courage… Go out and get busy”!
Happy 2024!
Emily Tipping
Editorial Director,
Recreation Management
[email protected]
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