Like most people, you may have thought of certain things in life that you would like to do before shuffle off this mortal coil. Some popular things to put on your bucket list may include travelling around the world, learning a new language, running a marathon or even going skydiving. One of the most rewarding things you can do however, is to build something, something important, something that will last. I don’t mean hire someone to build something for you, but build something with your own two hands, with the sweat of your brow, with your very own blood and tears.
Such DIY projects can be extremely fulfilling. Imagine spending weekends in the mountains in a log cabin you built by hand from scratch. You can sit in the sanctuary you built for you and your loved ones and recall how you set that foundation below the frost line, how you formed the saddle notch joinery and how you lovingly attached the roof boards. Or visualise yourself on a three week Mediterranean voyage in your own 38 foot yacht you built over several years in your spare time. As you sail the seas you can recollect those special moments where you shaped the hull, installed the BS6883 fixed wiring and built the homey cabins.
Building something of this magnitude may be a daunting task for some, or even seem impossible for others. Even so, if you’re willing to learn and to put in the time, then success is almost certain. If you’re really all thumbs you can always invest in a kit where components are prefabricated. This means less complexity, less prototyping and more ease in the whole process. It’s more like putting together an oversized model. All you have to do is follow the instructions and put it together. Such kits are available for everything from aeroplanes to automobiles. The satisfaction won’t change because it’s still your creation, something that exists solely because of you.
Bucket lists and the like are things we usually think about as we grow older. However, if you’re the type of person that would get immense pleasure out of a project of such scale, make sure you do it early enough in life so that you have the energy and endurance to see it through but also to maximise the time that you will have to enjoy it. You wouldn’t want such a project to remain unfinished or to be finished too late in life to enjoy fully and in abundance.
