Fiddling with the load-bearing structure (life as a construction project)

You want to make change as this new idea keeps tickling you. You have a reasonably well-established life, or some gaps that need filling. Like an old, wooden house, there are beams (more than one) that hold up the roof, a structure of distributed key elements that bear the load. Change means fiddling with that structure itself, and with core elements, and you want to do that without everything collapsing onto yourself in the process. Yes, wiping the slate completely clean and starting from scratch is one way of doing that, but this is extremely disruptive and I would not recommend that for most people and most situations (if we stick with the house metaphor, that is a lot of rubble and you will be cold and miserable for a very long time as you rebuild).

You want to look at the different elements that are load-bearing right now. Your desired change is likely going to affect one more than the others, or there might be a cluster. Keep the other ones strong as they are going to have to do more of the load-bearing. For example, if you are looking into a career change, you are likely going to lean more on your relationships, your friends/family, your financial cushion etc.

You then need to start building new elements, new structure to start bearing some of the load. This won’t happen overnight. This might change the shape of the house entirely (and that could be a good thing…). This could alter the design of everything else. You might want to use new, more sustainable ways of building, and that may lead you to partner with different people to do this. What is your vision? What are key criteria this undertaking needs to fulfil? How will it look, feel like? Can you picture yourself in it? Who inspires you? What have you seen that looks worth trying? How can you combine the new thing with what you already have to make something entirely different out of it? What can you do for yourself, and where might you need some help?

Like any construction project, this is going to be a bit of a journey, a mix of art and science, and likely not a solitary undertaking. There is going to be dust and rubble and paint splatter along the way, and the outcome will be worth it. Until the next idea wants out…