Any experience you gain from trying to do something yourself and the ingenuity you develop become valuable assets for you.
By working on something yourself, you’ll realize things like “this is so much harder than I thought” or “tools and materials cost way more than expected.”
I feel the world’s trend of casually saying “just DIY it!” but there’s a high probability that after finishing all the work, you’ll think “is this really going to be okay?”
You need strong resolve.
The other day I happened to walk by and saw a middle-aged man cutting lumber under his eaves.
He had a ladder lying flat as a work surface and was using a circular saw going “whirrrrr.”
The work setup looked scary just looking at it, and with so many boards, I wondered if he was building shelves or something.
There’s nothing wrong with doing something yourself—in fact, it’s a good thing. However, if you don’t think through the risks to some degree, you’ll end up paying dearly and getting hurt in various ways, so caution is necessary.
• You need way more tools than you think
Making something always requires cutting, grinding, and drilling tools, plus blades. One or two jobs get expensive fast, and you don’t know what to buy.
This is probably the first stage of falling into the DIY rabbit hole.
• You need way more materials than you think
Bolts, nuts, washers, gaskets, rivets—you only need two but have to buy ten. You buy longer bolts just to be safe. You don’t know which material or surface finish to choose.
By this point you’re buying stuff left and right, and you’re probably knee-deep in the rabbit hole.
• Risk of injury
There’s an old saying: “Injuries and lunch are your own responsibility.”
You need to understand the risks involved in the work. People who don’t feel or know the risks almost always end up with irreversible consequences.
If it’s minor, that’s fine, but you need to weigh the possibility of losing something.
• Risk of damaging the object itself
I got a consultation about this a long time ago—someone replaced their head cover gasket themselves and then the engine wouldn’t start.
They’d dropped something into the engine and started it without removing it. That mistake must have felt like falling into a deep hole. The valves are bent, so it turned out to be an expensive lesson.
Lately, when you look at the internet, you see catchy phrases like “easily do ○○” that tempt people into taking on work.
But when you actually try something yourself, haven’t you noticed that the tenth time goes better than the first? Even cooking curry works as an example.
“The first time was honestly rough…” Exactly.
Is the task itself simple, or is it your mindset before tackling it?
Is it me? Is it someone else? Thanks for your hard work! (*´▽｀*)
