Approaching Opportunities

We’ve all heard the saying ‘when one door closes another one opens’, but does that mean that if you open a door, you’re shutting one behind you?

I’ll stop talking in riddles – and explain that I’m talking about myself. I find myself at a kind of crossroads professionally, where if I go one way, I might have to give up on the way I’m already headed (I’m talking in riddles again, aren’t I?)

I have an exciting possibility ahead of me – I hesitate to call it an opportunity yet, because it’s not set in stone, but whether or not it will happen for me, it means that I will have to make a choice.

I’m usually good at choices. I dive in head first, welcome challenges with open arms, and don’t normally spend a lot of time looking back or wondering what could have been. I try to focus on moving forward, and I like taking risks.

Except for this time. I’m unsure this time, and that’s a whole new type of risk to me.

That door behind me is a great door. A really nice and welcoming door. It’s safe and comfortable, yet not boring. But the new door is exciting and wondrous. Challenging, probably, but definitely worth it.

For a while I’ve been living in a weird liminal hallway between these doors – but now I can’t keep both of them open for much longer. So, where do I go?

I prefer opportunities I can pile on top of each other, instead of those where I have to chose between two options. Or, I would have wished for a more clear cut divide between the two. A worn out and wonky door versus a new exciting one would have been simple, no matter the risk or challenges.

---

I’m sorry for talking in riddles throughout this entire post. I suppose it’s a way for me to talk through my own thoughts, to settle things in my own head, and I’m thankful if you’ve stuck around to the end.

I wrote a draft of this post around a week or two ago, when I didn’t know what to do or think about these exciting opportunities. Then, in the space between then and now, one of those opportunities disappeared. It’s simple now, I don’t have to choose either way, because there’s no choice left to me made.

But now I wonder… Would I have chosen the right thing if I had to?

How do you deal with opportunities, following your dreams, and making difficult choices? Is there a secret out there that I need to learn? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

And as always, please check out my books!