Open the door...again

Doors on Pinterest

There are doors between us and where we want to be.  When we set a goal we are given the key to that door, but it is still up to us to walk through it and face what is on the other side.

I recently heard about a man who applied for a very high position within a company.  Good for him for setting his goals so high and going after them!  Unfortunately he did not get the position, but you know what he did next?  He applied for a rather low position within the same company.  Is he crazy?  Surely he can not be serious.  I questioned his motive and simply wrote him off as having a few loose screws.  It’s hard to believe this guy could be committed to an entry level position when he also believes he is well suited to be the top dog. 

I then learned that his goal is to achieve that corner office with a view and he is willing to do whatever it takes to make that dream a reality.  Ok, now I see him as a man with a goal, and not crazy person who is just blindly applying for jobs.  An entry level position is probably below what he is capable of doing and is definitely less money than he is used to living on, but it’s a stepping stone to where he wants to be.  When the first door did not provide what he was looking for and was closed in front of him he moved on to the next door.  My view of this man changed when I learned about his goal. His first attempt was not successful and so he took a step back, re-evaluated, and tried again.

We don’t always get to start towards our goals with the ideal circumstances, but that shouldn’t stop us from working on them anyway.  I wonder how many people have already started to lose hope on their new years resolutions because of the voice in their head that is consistently reminding them that it’s only the first week and they’ve already screwed up.  You may have to take a step back and start over and that can be hard!  Open the door and take the first step, it gets easier after that. 

I screwed something up today and took a giant step backwards.  I wanted to quit, because giving up seemed so much easier than admitting that I’m not perfect.  So I waited… I waited until the pain I was feeling started to lessen and I could approach the situation without getting a lump in my throat.  I took some deep breaths and I opened the door again. 

"The greatest joy in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall." -Nelson Mandela