Courage to Walk Through the Door

When a door of opportunity opens, do we march through without a second thought, or do we hesitate on the threshold, suddenly reluctant to walk through the door?

I have stood on many a threshold, both excited at the opportunity ahead and terrified that I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. Will I take a deep breath and plunge ahead, trusting that things will work out, or will I become paralyzed by doubts and fears, convinced I will fail before I even begin? The choice is mine.

Do you sometimes have problems stepping through the doors that open in your life?

Do the open doors facing you sometimes feel like standing on the high dive? It looked like so much fun from the safety of the poolside, but the view is different standing at the end of the diving board, peering over into the water far, far below. At that moment, it requires a lot of courage to take the plunge.

Walking through doors of opportunity often require that “high dive” kind of courage

How to find the courage to walk through the door of opportunity

1. Recognize you face Resistance. Any time you attempt to better yourself or the world around you, you are opposed by a force—Resistance—that will use any trick in the book to keep you stuck where you are. The first step to overcoming Resistance is to recognize that it is common to all humankind. We all face it. You must choose not to let it defeat you.

The more important a call to action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel about answering it. But to yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. ~ Steven Pressfield

2. Acknowledge the cost. In order to embrace something new, you must be willing to give up something you have now. Walking through the door will probably require a sacrifice: of time, of money, of security… If you pretend there is not cost, you are only fooling yourself. In order to move forward you must let go, and to let go you must remind yourself why the payoff is worth it.

Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness. ~ Napoleon Hill

3. Remember your identity is not based on performance. Walking through an open door is a risk. You might fail. Or you may not succeed as easily or as well as you’d hoped. No matter what happens on the other side of that door, you must believe that your worth is not based on how well you succeed. Each new opportunity teaches us something of value, even when it appears we have failed.

Failure is a great teacher, and I think when you make mistakes and you recover from them and you treat them as valuable learning experiences, then you’ve got something to share. ~ Steve Harvey

4. Choose a growth mindset. In order to move forward, you must believe you have the potential to grow. A new opportunity usually requires you to become more than you already are. New skills, greater responsibilities. Choose to face the challenges with a mindset that says you can always work hard and get better.

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance. ~ Samuel Johnson

5. Revisit your calling. Sometimes people become timid because they have forgotten their values, dreams and calling. This is why success gurus suggest creating personal manifestos. Life has a way of pulling you off course. Reminding yourself of who you are, what you stand for, and what you hope to accomplish can give you the motivation to walk through the door.

Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must also step up the stairs. ~ Vaclav Havel

Don’t miss out on opportunities because you were afraid to walk through the door. When the chance arises, have courage and take the next step.

You’ll be glad you did.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the ones you did. ~ Mark Twain