Look for the Open Doors

Focus exclusively on the past and you will be fixed in place. You will be unable to move forward. It’s so easy to become obsessed over awful memories from your past. If you do, you prevent healing, learning, and growing into the person you are supposed to become. Holding on to your past is like burying yourself up to the neck in garbage. It becomes harder and harder to dig yourself out.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

Helen Keller

Pain, disappointment, and regrets are unavoidable. But if you dwell on those aspects of your life too much, you won’t see the opportunities to make it better. Whether you know it or not, your life is exactly what you make of it. Bad things happen. People lose jobs, lose loved ones, and are diagnosed with cancer. You have two choices. When things are at their worst, you can focus on the negative or search out the positives?

Look for the good in every moment, every day, and every challenge. It won’t always be easy to find, but you can train yourself to view the world around you through a positive lens. It will be much easier on you. I’m not telling you to put on rose-colored glasses! Just to focus on the positive and cast aside the negative.

If you want to be a true Wild One, then you have to take ownership of your life, the good and the bad. Turn every punch to the jaw or kick in the ass into an opportunity. Believe it or not, you can turn everything that happens to you as an opportunity to grow. When life knocks you down, it’s time to reinvent yourself and come back stronger. To tell you the truth, I’m on my second reincarnation (at least!) and I’m not expecting it to be my last.

What’s the takeaway here? Look ahead of you for the opportunities you know are there. Stop staring at the locked doors in your past. Focus on the future but don’t dismiss the lessons life has taught you. Choose happiness. Good things may come to those who wait but better things come to those who know where to look–ahead!

Tell me about your experiences with looking for the positives. Have you tried it? Maybe you will inspire others with your experiences.