Exit strategy

When one door closes, another opens.Alexander Graham Bell said that.What a smart guy. Yes, it is now a cliché and, worse yet, a bumpersticker -- but that doesn’t make it any less true or any less of an important life lesson. Maybe it is not so much true as believing in it makes it true. Believing in the open door can be empowering. It can change the internal monolog from poor me…I am the victim of the slammed door to lucky me…I get to start a new adventure. And if you believe that and act on that belief, it becomes true. Ah, what a sweet bit of self-administered cognitive behavioral therapy.But, ask yourself (as I did/ as I do): Why wait? Why wait until one door slams shut before exploring the other doors? Why wait for a bad thing to happen to propel you to make good things happen? Why wait to have change forced upon you when you can choose change? Isn’t it possible (and healthy and fun) to seek challenges rather than be compelled to make them, to move forward out of curiosity and imagination rather than disappointment and desperation, to venture forth not because a door closes behind you, but because you suddenly see so many doors ahead of you?And…think about it… isn’t this the perfect time to start looking for and opening some of those doors, to walk on through, to see what’s there. First, though, you gotta slam that door behind you. Loudly. Bravely. Con brio.Listen to the lovely, life-enhancing sound of the purposeful exit.