The Do-It-Yourself Conundrum

Growing up I learned that sometimes it was better to learn how to something yourself as opposed to paying someone else. This was most apparent with me helping my father work on the car in the past 10 years. Although the motivation was primarily financial, many times after completing some challenging work there was a great deal of fulfillment. I'd feel satisfied knowing I did something right and I learned something useful in the process. There will always be part of me that wants to learn and do everything on my own. Whether it's housework, automobile, gardening, computers or whatever -- I feel fairly certain that it is not outside of my capacity. But then reality sets in. I question myself as to where I should draw the line. Where do I give in and say I'll just spend some money for something not perfect but more convenient? At times I'll lose a weekend or 2 on repairing something, but then what about the time? It maybe worthwhile financially, but I wonder if life is worth spending that way?

I sit here amidst countless projects that either I've started or someone else has started with me. Some I know may have a serious impact on my day to day life, but otherwise I wonder: "What's the point?" I think that the money I save and the fulfillment I'll get is no longer worth the time I spend and the frustration I'll endure. So I'm not going to give up on everything, but I do think that I no longer really want to be a general purpose "Do-It-Yourselfer". Hopefully I'll find better things in life to occupy my time.

Posted in: Life, Philosophy,