Old Keys Won't Open New Doors
As humans we all grow with time. Whether that growth is positive or negative is up to you and whether or not you hold onto the keys of your life's older doors is directly up to you too. We tend as humans to cling onto this idea of routine and sameness as common comfort and that can be fine in moderation but without that continual growth we can become stagnant in our ways. So how do we focus on the future of positive growth and how do we open new doors in our day to day lives?
Over the past year I've come to learn a lot about myself and with that comes the good, the bad and the ugly. Life overtime has thrown a few curve balls my way and with that I've learned what bat to swing with, what strength to use and heck even what stance to take before swinging altogether. Sure it's worked in the past but the curve balls being thrown change over time and so do I, so why is it so easy to revert back to the patterns and habits I know so well? Why is it so hard to find new keys or those new doors? In my case it's been a variety of things. I've learned how to work through traumas, heartache, disappointment and so many other things that can so easily shake me to my core but that doesn't mean my solutions were always the best ones for me. That's like saying I have to get from one side of the street to the other in any way I can. Considering all possibilities of getting there, I choose to walk on my hands thinking it is by far the best option for me at the time. I may fall 30x in the process and may get clipped by a passing car but by golly I made it to the other side! That may sound silly but this can apply to anything in life no matter what direction you're going in because there is always a different way to consider! You may just not see that way until you gain a new perspective or maybe you had to learn a few lessons in other areas to grow a little first.
This idea of finding a new key for a new door seems simple but the action of it feels kind of absurd in a way. Why try an entirely different process to get somewhere new if you've found successful methods in the past? Why go out of that comfort zone when you KNOW what works? But has it worked? Have you really gotten to where you want to be in life and have you truly opened the kind of doors you want to be walking through in your future? As humans we strive to be better having this underlying desire to look back on our growth as we move forward in life. Staying stagnant in our ways doesn't allow for that and nor does holding onto old keys for the new doors we find ourselves standing in front of. For me personally, I've found that my old keys have been labelled which is a step in the right direction. Those labels have given me a sense of awareness in how I want to handle opening my new doors in life as they won't grant me passage to where I want to go moving forward. Bitterness, Anger, Pride, Control, Selfishness are all stamped across the metal of my keys and they still do to this very day. These are keys that have been on my key ring and have had many copies made throughout my life in turn blocking me from truly opening the doors I strive to turn the knob to. They may not stop me from putting my best foot forward but that foot gets blocked at the toe stubbing surface of a door I've never waltz through. But the hard lesson is that if you want that growth, you really have to be willing to step out of that comfort zone and get uncomfortable in realizing your nitty gritty. Ps - Everyone has some.
Being at such a pivotal moment in my life, these are all things I'm processing an taking on with full force right now. My career is shifting in an entirely new direction from what I've ever known, trauma from my childhood has resurfaced from the swamp to bare newly festered wounds, all while planning to marry the absolute love of my entire life in just over 7 months. Each of these areas brings on their own versions of stress, joy and overall attention but more importantly each one provides a new door for me to walk through in my future... if I have the right keys in hand. THAT right there is the hardest part. How do you obtain them and who is supposed to guide you through all of this?
Well, to be honest it's YOU. Having a balanced sense of self awareness and self-reflection while practicing self-love and self-care in the process is the very first step. Being able to admit when you're wrong and having the courage to stand up and try again after falling is also an incredibly important part of that journey as it brings on a healthy shift in the perspective you have on yourself. This is something I've struggled with a lot over this past year and I've learned that my keys aren't just the parts of myself that I need to work on. They also take form of having bad habits or maybe they form out of a lack of discipline in a crucial area of my life. Everyone's keys are going to take on a different appearance but it's whether or not you take notice of the keys on your ring and whether or not they need to be changed out for new ones. That's the beauty of growth. So if you're searching for new opportunities and new phases in your life, don't try using an old rusty key because old keys won't open new doors.
Todd Holland
A very positive and transformative message in a generation that needs to hear it these days. Thank you!