The Tool Shed: How We Over-Acquire Self-Help Tools

It’s not enough to keep gathering all of the knowledge in the world.

You can’t just keep gathering tool after tool, but never putting them to use. Imagine having a shed that’s just chock full of great tools, all brand new tools, or at least some that were brand new very recently. They’ve maybe been picked up for a quick project or two here and there, you used them right off the bat with vigor and intensity, but then you put them away on the shelf because they were hard to use and you weren’t committed to mastering how to use them. This shed is packed to the gills.

You’ve got a sander: a power sander just sitting there in the shed.

You got it for a high cost because you had some project that you were working on and it was really rough around the edges. You thought to yourself at the time, Well I’ve got a really boring basic sander, and some sand paper lying around, and they might get the job done, but it would be really nice to go out and spend a bunch of money on this power sander so I could get the job done more efficiently. Plus, I’ll be able to use this sander for projects in the future. Anything that needs sanding, I’ve got it covered!

So you went out and you bought the sander. You used it on that initial project and you got that project done because you were all fired up about it. Once you completed that project, it just so happened that another project came along that could really use a power sander. You picked it up off the shelf and started to use it, but it felt funny in your hands. You didn’t remember the technique exactly, and you weren’t as fired up about it as you were before. You could turn it on, but you couldn’t sand. It was tough. It felt foreign. So you put the sander down, thinking that maybe you just were having a bad day. You let the new project sit there on the work bench for the rest of the day, and you went to get yourself a beer.

While you were getting yourself a beer, you saw an ad for a new tool on TV:

“Here’s a jackhammer that you can use for all of your jackhammering needs. “

You remembered a project that you were working on at one point in time in the back yard that needed a jackhammer, some concrete that you were trying to bust up and remove, and you thought that this would be the perfect time to get that jackhammer and get the project done. A little flame started to burn inside of you, and the intensity grew as you thought about completing this project. So you picked up the phone, called the company, and ordered the jack hammer on the spot.

You ordered overnight shipping because you’re all fired up about the project and you just can’t wait a few days more to get working on it.

The next day, the jackhammer arrived, at a ridiculously expensive cost, and you got to work on the project. Your wife saw you out the window and yelled to you that supper was ready, but you didn’t even hear her because you were jack hammering like a maniac in the back yard. You completely forgot everything else other than this project. You became determined to get this project done at all costs in the shortest amount of time possible, and it was made possible because of a deep well of energy that just kept flowing and flowing. This jackhammer, you thought to yourself, was the perfect tool to unlock this potential energy inside of you. You don’t even feel hunger, that’s how focused you were on this project and getting it done.

Boom! You got it done in some record time, and all the concrete is up and removed. You put that jackhammer into the garage, excited as hell to have it at the ready for the next project that you’re going to need a jackhammer for. You went inside the house to finally eat a bite of dinner and your wife asked you what you’re going to do with that newfound space in the backyard where the concrete used to be. Hell if I know! You said, and sat down at the table to eat.

You woke up the next day and realized that the table, which needed sanding, was still down there on the workbench waiting for you. But you felt very uneasy about the project by this point, more so even than you did before the jackhammering episode. You went down there, knowing that it had to get done at some point or another, but you couldn’t even remember how to plug the sander in and turn it on. You put the sander back on the shelf and bring the table upstairs. Your wife asked why you didn’t sand the table like you said you were going to, and you replied that 1.) something’s wrong with the sander and 2.) you have other projects to work on. You said you’d get back to that one when you had some spare time, and you moved on to a new project in the garage. Some concrete needed jackhammering.

You got out to the garage, picked up the jackhammer, and it immediately felt foreign. It didn’t feel the same as it did yesterday. You lost your enthusiasm for the jackhammer, and even though you remembered how to plug it in and turn it on, you can’t bring yourself to get that project started. You put the jackhammer away for the time being, telling yourself that you’ll pick it up again sometime soon and get that next project done, but in the meantime you’ve got other things to work on.

Then you saw a new tool on the TV… a nailgun! The roof had some shingles that needed to be replaced and this would be the perfect opportunity for you get that done.

You ordered the nail gun immediately, and you’re off to the races again.

This is a story about what happens when you constantly work on accumulating tools to help yourself be a better person, but you never actually work on the projects to make yourself a better person. You get fired up about a new tool, (Oh, look, a new breathing technique that I can use to calm myself down at work when I feel my temper getting out of control — I’ll learn it!), and you use that tool for a time or two, but pretty soon it starts to slip from your memory, you forget how to use it altogether. You start telling yourself that you still possess the skill, but you can’t seem to remember how to put the tool into practice, and it doesn’t seem to come up as a natural response to stressors. You’ll come back to it, you say.

Going through life this way is going to result in you half being able to do a bunch of self-help techniques, but never actually implementing any of them beyond just a cursory effort at the very beginning when you learn about them. It’s not enough just to be fired up about something right off the bat. Sustained effort and practice is required for techniques to sink into long term memory, when the initial enthusiasm is gone.

Clearly, it’s ridiculous to continue to accumulate new tools for your house every other day, especially when most of those tools can complete a variety of jobs, (i.e. a hammer and nail can do the same things as a nail gun), but this is what we’re doing when we pick up a new book, or listen to a new podcast, and get all fired up about a new technique. We’re grasping for a new tool, when we’ve got a shed full of tools out back that can already be used on the project.

Instead of doing that, figure out what techniques you already have, write them down, and start using them on a daily basis. Work on making them second nature. Don’t pick up more tools off the shelf and remark how shiny they are, are how much value they could bring into your life, and how you really need them. They are only tools. They cannot complete the project without you.

The real question is, what project are you working on? When you’ve clearly defined that, you can decide what tools you need and determine if you already possess them. Until that question is answered, you’ll be Tim the Tool Man without a wall to knock down, a hot rod to fix up, or a kitchen to set on fire. Your tool belt will be full, and you’ll have nothing to do.