Closed Doors

As many people these days, I have been experiencing some uncertainty with my business. The economy has impacted most of us in some way or another. I have found myself in a place of mystery, what is going to happen? I have a choice in those moments, will I choose optimism or pessimism??

When fear has a hold on me, I can get stuck in the negative and see only closed doors all around me. Closed doors say to me, "Don't Enter", "Leave Alone", "Go Away", "NO!". In this place I feel there is no hope, it is frustrating and everything appears impossible. Not a fun place to be, and I am certainly not my best self in these times.

During one of these phases recently I noticed something that fascinated me. My puppy does not see closed doors, or if she does they do not limit or stop her. Because she is still a puppy I do not let her have access to all of the rooms in my house, I like to be able to keep an eye on her. So I close the doors to the rooms that are 'off limits' to her. You would think that the sight of the door being closed would be enough to convince her to move on and leave that room alone. Not my puppy, she will push and shove and she will work to get that door opened-and it works! Sometimes I do not get the door latched securely and she is able to push her way into where she wants to be. She is relentless when she wants something.

After observing this I got to thinking, do I give up too easily sometimes? Probably. Do I push a little on a closed door to see if it just might come open? Not really. What if I didn't take the appearance of a closed door to be fact, what if a closed door is really just another opportunity to examine how much I really want something? Do I want it enough to work at it a little harder, to push and see is it really closed or is that an illusion??

At the core of who I am, I am optimistic, I believe that there is a purpose for all things, that the tough times are just lessons on our way to where we want to go. And I am coming to realize that when I have a dream, if I really want something, I don't want to give it up just because a door appears to be closed. I want to be relentless in my pursuits, to give it all I have before I decide that it is time to move on.

Are you willing to check out the doors in front of you more closely before you write them off as closed?

I wonder what would happen if we all pursued our goals and dreams with the enthusiasm of a puppy.

~Sheri