A week or so ago the toilet in the kids bathroom wouldn’t stop running.
Now this toilet was practically brand new. I had replaced it only 3 or 4 years earlier because one of my kids had jammed one of their toys inside the “s” that flushed everything down the drain. Funny thing is, I remember having that broken toilet sit there for like two months before I finally got up enough nerve to replace it myself. I had never done a project like this before and the thought of doing it freaked me out.
Once I got into the project and actually did it however, I come to find out that it was actually a breeze to replace.
Since then, I’ve become quite the handy man around the house, and replaced all the toilets in the house with low flush units that save water. I also saved a costly replacement up at my parents last Christmas when my 1 year old niece shoved a cup down their toilet, blocking the flow of water down the drain.
A quick run to the local hardware store for a $2.00 wax ring enabled me to take the unit off the floor, snag the cup lodged in the drain and put the unit right back where it was within about 10 minutes. (A plumber would have cost $175 just to roll the truck.) It not only saved a lot of money, but also saved our family from the unsightly “butt crack” that plumbers are so famous for. ;-P
After taking a brief look at new leak we had in the kids bathroom, on the surface it looked as if the gasket in the holding tank that released the reserve water had broken it’s seal. From the look of it, the glue holding the gasket in place had dissolved and the rubber gasket wouldn’t properly seal the water inside the tank. A quick fix for this was a trip to the local Home Depot for a universal valve to replace the inside of the unit.
What I didn’t take into account until after I got home with the new valve was the size of the existing valve, which was quite larger than the universal replacement I just bought. As a result, I’d had to go direct to Kohler for the replacement part.
So yesterday the part comes in and I go to work on the new unit. Because the unit held the reserve water inside one part, releasing it into the other, I had every intention in taking the holding tank off to replace the new valve. Fortunately however, I took just a brief moment to take a closer look at the new unit, and more specifically the gasket in question that had become dislodged from its proper position.
What I had assumed was glued on by some type of water proof adhesive, wasn’t the case at all. Instead, the rubber gasket merely came out of the ridge holding it there. I simply couldn’t see or feel the ridge from the perspective I had been looking. Because I was looking down from above, instead of below, I had no idea the ridge even existed.
After seeing how the gasket was actually placed into position from my new perspective I was able to place existing gasket back into the ridge holding it there by feel – without any need to disassemble a single bolt or screw.
Once again, what I had been dreading all this time, wasn’t the case at all after taking a closer look and actually going through the motions. The new valve will be going back to Kohler today for a full refund.
The moral of this story is that we all make assumptions based on our current perspective. Fear is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real, and I’m just as guilty as the next guy right out of the gate. Our minds are well potty trained to be “in the toilet” – and by that I mean that little voice inside that says “You’re not good enough” – or – “You’re not worthy” – or “It’s too difficult”.
The difference with me over the last couple of years is I’ve been fortunate enough to not only question those limiting beliefs, but have been given some amazing tools that change these beliefs entirely. It’s rather empowering. The more I clear the weeds that have been chocking me all these years, the clearer I see things. In addition, as I put these principles into action, challenging the fear head on that it’s too difficult, I find that I’ve always had the capability to do whatever I want already within me. I simply had to have an opportunity to apply it.
And there’s the rub. So many times, we just let fear stop us dead in our tracks. We accept that little voice as truth instead of mere illusion. Not only do I catch myself doing it, I see others doing it on a regular basis.
Have you ever stopped to think who told you it couldn’t be done? Really – think about that for a moment. How did that belief get there in the first place? You certainly weren’t born with it – like someone stamped you with either “Worth” or “Yuck – Unworthy!” when you were born. So who embedded that kind of programming? Maybe it was your parents, or another relative. Maybe kids you hung out with growing up. In fact, I still see it in grown adults. (Think about the high and mighty Travel Agents who have done nothing but poke and pry at those of us in YTB.) Point is, it was placed there by someone else, and we’ve all bought into it for one reason or another.
Truth is, it’s nothing but an illusion. I had all kinds of false perceptions running through my head over changing a simple gasket in a toilet, when in reality that perception was eventually flushed down the drain after taking a closer look.
It’s entirely up to you what perceptions or beliefs you hold and the actions you take that dictate what type of life you live. Just do me a favor and awaken to the possibility that there may be another perspective or alternative to what you’re thinking when your mind is in the toilet.
You may find that you can very easily flush it right down the drain never to be seen or heard from again.
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Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
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