Image by DyeAnnaBee from Pixabay
Today I was at my usual restaurant grabbing lunch. The weather was pleasant, so after picking up my food, I decided to sit outside. I took the door I usually use to step onto the patio, but this time, it wouldn’t budge. I rattled it once, maybe twice, then gave up and sat indoors.
Halfway through my meal, I noticed someone else walk up to the same door. I thought I’d save him the trouble, maybe let him know it was locked. But before I could stand up, he kept at it — one try, then another, then another — until the door finally opened. He calmly stepped outside with his meal, as it had been obvious all along.
Wait. What just happened? Why didn’t open for me? I walked back to the door, reexamined the handle, and it swung open easily — nothing was wrong with it.
It was simple — I gave up too quickly. He didn’t.
And it got me thinking.
How many times did I stop at the first locked door? How often did I assume something isn’t meant for me, when in reality, it just needed another try — a bit more patience, a different angle or plain persistence?
It wasn’t about the door anymore. It was about the conversations I never started because I assumed the answer would be no. The projects I shelved after first setback. The ideas I never tested because I was too quick to believe they wouldn’t work.
All because, in my mind, the door was “locked”.
But maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it needed one more try.
So next time I face a door that doesn’t move the first time, I hope I remember to try again!