What HGTV and Your Brain Have in Common

My wife and I spent Sunday being true HGTV house hunters.  We toured several houses with our real estate agent, named the houses,  and then gathered at the end of the day to talk about each one.  While some people may find this process exhausting, we love it.

We both moved many times growing up, her around the world, (she was a military brat) and me within a 5 mile radius of my hometown.  I literally lived in 11 houses just in middle and high school.  My dad would build a house and while he was building we would rent another.  This continued all throughout my teen years.  One particular house we were set to move in and he sold it the week before! So we rented another and the cycle continued.

As my dad built over 100 houses (while also working his full time job) it taught me to appreciate the construction process.  Now, when I go tour homes I always observe the houses and look for issues, or at the very least, potential issues.  Has the roof been replaced, how old is the HVAC, has it had water issues, what does the craftsmanship look like with the trim, or the tile, and the list goes on and on.

What’s interesting is I always find myself looking for the negatives.  Even if the house is almost perfect, with great curb appeal, I find the issues, the flaws.  I

Isn’t this also how we view ourselves? Regardless of how “good” our day has been, as soon as one person says something negative about you, don’t you tend to believe them? Why? Because your brain is trained to look for the negatives in you.  It tells you, you’re not good enough.  You’ll never measure up.  You are flawed.  But friend, the truth is, you are perfect just the way you are.

Just as you can see the flaws in a house and still buy it, you can also see the flaws in yourself and still be ok with you.  There’s a special magic when you give yourself a pass.  When you love yourself just because you are you, regardless of what others say, or whether or not you get someone’s validation.  You simply get to be you.  This week recognize that you are a perfect creation regardless of your flaws, regardless of what your boss, or wife, or kids say about you.  You are whole just the way you are.