I recently had an ancient bathroom extractor fan that had entirely packed in and needed replacing. It was a behemoth compared to the sleek new ones and I phoned a builder to take it out and fill in, what I imagined would be, a large space behind.
He didn’t want to do it, the job was too small, parking would be a pain. There just wasn’t enough there to make it worth his while but rather than say ‘no’ outright, he asked if I’d removed what I could (with the electricity off) to see what gap there was? If there was any gap to fill that’s a simple job I could do myself, and that I should get a sense of what was entailed and come back to him. Get curious and a bit brave was his invitation.
I’d convinced myself there would be a huge space which would need board cut to size, put in secured, seams filled – not things I’m used to doing. Begrudgingly, but wanting to get the extractor replaced, I started taking off the cover, then the back board and then when I removed the rest of the unit the presumed ‘huge hole’ was just 10cm by 10cm, perfect for one of those modern sleek extractors to fit in.
I had built up what I couldn’t see into a something much bigger than I felt I could tackle. It was only with the builder allowing me to feel the confidence he had in me, hold a space in which I could safely explore and him challenging me that I realised I had made up a story about what was there and how hard it would be to face.
Coaching in action! He does landscaping too.
Picture: Me feeling green – particularly when it comes to building work.
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