Seven years ago, watching our rent increase and the interest rates drop, the husband and I invested in our first home. As fairly cautious people we moved further from the city then we wanted to just to save a few bucks. Honestly, it was probably the best financial decision we ever made.
Now we are contemplating selling our home. It’s nerve wracking. Do we put our house on the market? Seriously start to look for a new place? I’m torn between the feelings of contentment with where we are and the desire to move where I really want to be. I love my house. We’ve made great memories here. But it’s just not in a location we want to be for the rest of our lives.
I’m scared. It’s plain and simple. It’s easier to stay stagnant instead of working for what you really want. I think about the shear amount of time it will take for me to get this house ready to sell. I’m consumed by thoughts of finding a new place. Will everything workout? What if I find the house of our dreams but ours won’t sell? What if our house sells but we have no place to go? There are just so many things that can go wrong.
There are also many things that can go right. :)
I guess it’s all in the way you look at it… Right?
While searching for this weekend’s quote, consumed with all these thoughts one particularly jumped off the screen, smacking me in the face. I’m serious. I nearly fell over. :)
Don’t waste time calculating your chances of success and failure. Just fix your aim and begin.
It makes perfect sense! I know what I want. I know where I want to be. I just have to take the steps and do the work to get me there. That was just the little push I needed.
My decision to move isn’t that different then my decision to lose weight, is it? We talk a lot about wanting to lose weight. We complain about it, about our bodies. We read all the latest fad diets in hopes of some quick fix that in or hearts we know doesn’t really exist. But what we don’t do is just begin. Just set the goal and do the work day in and day out to get there without "talking" ourselves out of it by "calculating the chances of our own success".
In other words… Just DO IT! :)
18 Responses to Weekend Quote: Just DO IT
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About Roni
Roni started this blog in '05 to journal her weight loss. 70lbs later, she's committed to living a conscious, healthy life and hopes to inspire others along the way. Read more on the about page.
Hi Roni,
How true that quote is! As a COMPLETELY new homeowner (moved in on December 13) I can completely understand what you are going through. Of course I didn’t have half the stress that you are contemplating with having to sell a home as well (I was moving from an apartment). But I had been thinking of getting a home for quite a while, but then finally just did what you are promoting, JUST DO IT. I got in touch with a real estate agent, then just jumped in! And it really went fast…started looking in mid-November and had a closing offer by the first week of December! But I truly believe this is because I KNEW what I wanted right off the bat so I saved myself and my real estate agent a lot of time…plus knowing I wanted to get in before Christmas and all the snow was a GREAT push. So I wish you all the luck.
Kaye, in Massachusetts
That make a lot of sense. Being military we move all the time. We actually have moved 3 times in the past 2 yrs….coast to coast even. We have owned two houses in the past 4 years etc etc. I have always loved and embraced the move because it was like starting fresh. Although with each move I have gone back to old habits, eating with stress, etc etc. I think I need to start rethinking my moves…Which may be sooner than we thought…LOL. Oh the life!
I made a post this morning about the same idea but towards weight loss. We get so wrapped up in how much calories/points we sould be eating.. and did i drink enough water… did i work out enough.. when really.. We know what we need to do to lose weight.. and just need to DO.
That is a great quote! I’m glad you’ve made the decision and you have that weight off your shoulders. Its so easy to move forward with confidence once the big decisions are made!
Good luck with everything :)
We couldn’t find anything we like so we are in the process of building. It’s a lot cheaper than what we thought and is so much fun (a little stressful too) picking everything out!
Roni: Once again our situations (like our wt. loss) are running in parallel universes. Unfortunately, this included seeing 150 on the scale for the first time in three years after Christmas! Kinda scarey.
I too love my house. I wish I could pick it up and take it with me. I’d love to be in the country a little and eventually see myself there. My son is a freshman in HS and would give anything to move now. I wish I could just DO IT now and move while we could share the rewards with him, rather wait until he is grown and gone. I feel like I should wait until the market is better, wait until I’m sure our jobs are secure, wait until we’ve gotten ‘more use’ out of this home and all the improvements we have made. Maybe I’ll DO IT in the Spring . . .
You are right, we all know what tools we need to make our dreams come true. My husband always tell me I should put half the time and energy into working out as I do blogging and might be 1/2 way to my goal! :) He says that in good fun- but it’s true. I spend hours on here I am addicted. So let’s do it! Take the chance with the house!
I think this may be my first comment here. Good luck with whatever you decide!
I love the quote! It makes me think of a woman I heard on the radio this week. I can’t remember her name, but someone called and asked for guidance because she was contemplating a new career and she was afraid of making the wrong decision. The woman told the caller that in order to progress, you have to leave something behind. For some reason that really got my attention. I want to move too, but I’ve lived here my entire life. I need to realize that if I truly want the life I desire for myself, I have to leave some things behind.
Sorry I’m rambling!
Every change we broach upon in our lives is scary. We are always leary about venturing into the land of the unknown. I hope you find peace in the final decision and move you make. I wanted to let you know, that I quoted the last part of this post in my blog today, but was sure to link it back to you. 2009 is going to be an amazing year for everyone!
Amen to the scary house selling stuff. Husband and I are trying to sell and at first thought that we would relocate to the next county where the schools are better so we could settle down and have kids. But now the husband and I are contemplating a move across the COUNTRY! On one hand, I want to live a little and would love the experience but the other side of me says “NO, it’s too scary – DON’T DO IT!”. We shall see what happens.
All that to say, great quote and good luck to you with the selling/buying stuff.
selling your house is scary.. but real estate agents will talk you thru buying and selling at the same time.. its not as bad as it seems.. i was scared at first but it works out. just sit down and let them explain your options. with the housing market as it is.. IF you really want to move now.. try it! put a time frame.. like house on market for 5 months and if it doesnt sell.. forget it. wait a few years till the market picks up. i have seen houses sell fast.. and other 2 yrs on the market and going nowheres. you also must think of your son. If he is in school then you should consider changing schools during the summer. i wish you the best on your choice and hope everything works out. good luck!
Ah…Sensei…the Nike philosophy…
I love it. If we just sat around and pondered, nothing would ever get done. So I’m with you.
Just Do It!
If you want to move, now is the time to do it before your son starts school. It makes it easier for him to not change schools once starting kindergarten and making friends.
I am so happy/proud to finally be able to say I am just doing it! For the first time!
Hey Roni – I did just what you are contemplating last April and totally understand where you are coming from. We moved to the city we live in now almost 10 years ago. We moved in to our first house which we built, had two kids there and loved the location. When baby #2 was on his way, we loved the area so much (or so I thought) that we found a slightly bigger four bedroom house just around the corner. But…the house wasn’t right for me. I mean it was beautiful…like a show home. That might have been the problem. :) Anyway, we lived there for three years. During those years, I wasn’t happy and I knew it. I just felt like a move was out of the question. The area was so over-populated that my kids had to be bused outside the area for school, etc. I just didn’t feel right. I would go out secretly and look at plans for new houses being built in the area; look at the real estate pages for older houses that suited our needs. With three small kids – 2, 4 and 6, it seemed impossible. My husband was happy where we were as well which sucked. So anyway…to make a long story short, there was an incident at the school regarding a change in boundaries where my husband said, “let’s do it…but these are the criteria.” I was fine with his criteria. We looked at older houses that did not need a lot of work. There was a specific price range and on, and on, and on. I think my husband gave me these criteria so that he felt like he was the one in charge. :) Bless him…lol. Anyway, we would all pile in the van and meet our agent at houses after dinner and I would go through houses…if it was worthwhile for Hubby to go through then I would wait in the van with the kids….etc. I found houses that I loved, hubby hated, etc. We started searching in November and found our dream (my dream) house in late December. It actually was a house that went off the market I wanted to see and I thought it was sold. Turns out it went in to foreclosure. Just our luck, we got a great deal. Although this house is smaller than our last one, it is so perfect for us. The use of space is ideal and it has everything we need.
This move was not easy. Moving just hubby and I was done in a day, a friend brought over his truck, we provided beer and pizza and presto we were moved in….not with three kids. However, it was a great way to get exactly what we want and to start fresh as someone mentioned above. I purged old baby stuff that we won’t use, donated what I could, organized my own things, etc. To put our house up for sale it was a ton of work and I found myself painting our baseboards one Sunday night after the kids were in bed but…I kept my eye on the prize. I knew that if someone was going to buy our house, we had to work super hard to get it ready. Our agent has a ton of experience and went through our house telling us what to do to get it ready. There are agents that also stage. If you are nervous about getting your home ready, hire a stager. Sure it costs money but they do the work and I know of one home that was staged so well it sold the same day it went on the market! You will always have the memories of your current home. No one will take that away from you. You will always remember the good times and all that you accomplished there. Your life has changed in so many ways though and your needs are now different and that is allowed. Take this opportunity to take a chance in life and know what you want, go for it. You will get there….promise. Just do it!
Let me tell you a little (hopefully short) story…
At the end of May in 2005, we found the land we had been looking for to build a custom home on (we had been looking for land for a while). I knew it was ‘the land’ b/c I just had that feeling come over me (you know that feeling, right?) when we realized that it met all of my…I mean our criteria. Our thought was that we would buy the land and then sit on it for a couple years, come up with our dream house plans and pay it off. DH threw a for sale by owner sign in the yard (of our first home) just to see what would happen–the house sold in 9 (yes that says NINE) days! We had no where to go, our son had just turned 1, and we were leaving for vacation in a week. It was a very stressful time (moving is very stressful!). We never thought our home would sell b/c there were 3 foreclosed homes vacant across the street! But it did and everything happens for a reason (we are firm believers in that mantra). We moved into an apartment while our new home was built–the LONGEST 9 months of our lives. But, had we waited, we never would have sold our home later on b/c then the economy in our area took a nose dive. We had to “Just do it” in order to be where we are today. If you know what you want and you know where you want to be, then just do it–put the house up for sale and start looking in the location where you want to be. Be prepared for the stress that comes along with it all and you will be so happy at the end result! I loved my first house (I still drive my it every so often)–it was our first home, our first year of marriage was spent there, we brought our first child home from the hospital to that home. Heck, if that home had a basement, we never would have moved. Good luck with whatever decision you and DH make!!! It will be a fun adventure!
Good luck in whatever decision you and DH make.
Just got rid of my beloved car that I’d had for nine years so I sorta know the feeling. I still think about my last car, silly me! I really love my newer car. I was spending too much on repairs on the old car so I had to get rid of it. I still wonder where it is, who’s driving it, etc.
I LOVE that quote!!! I’m going to have to put that in my “Inspiration Wall”. I’m notorious for thinking to much. I’m always projecting into the future and trying to decide the pros and cons and find all the hidden obstacles just in case they come up. It’s exhausting! Thanks for the thought Roni, this is a wonderful reminder for me.