Words To Live By

Yesterday I mentioned that I had been killing time by looking at some of The Plan Collection's houseplan-related articles. Not only did they have an article that completely agreed with my recent Character blog-entry; they also had an article that was profoundly deep.

The author was describing what he calls "THE 90% RULE". According to the author, professional home designer Jake England, there is no such thing as a perfect home plan. I totally agree. You will save yourself a lot of heartache and stress if you just accept this simple fact. Too many people end up with ulcers before they even begin building their new home, just because they want the "perfect home". Even if you weren't constrained by a budget, you'd be hard-pressed to find a house plan that meets your every desire.

However, if you can learn to be happy when a plan satisfies 90% of your wants, life will be a lot easier -- you might even enjoy building your new home! As Mr. England put it:

"You are asking imperfect people to use imperfect products to build you a perfect house. Guess what, it won't be perfect. It should be a great home, but it will not be perfect. " (go to article)

Now those are some words to live by. THE 90% RULE is great when it comes to house plans, but you can really improve the quality of your life by applying it everywhere. Our homes, relationships - even our meals - will be more fulfilling if we can be satisfied with 90%. It takes some effort, but I'm willing to give it a shot. After all, I'm not 100% perfect either.

So for all of you out there that are searching for your dream home, be sure to ask yourself if the plan satisfies 90% of your wants. If it does, it looks like you've got yourself a great plan!