Motivation Mondays: CLOSED DOORS

“When your failures surround you, and all the open doors have closed, look up. There’s a door that never closes, a way, when all the other ways have failed you.” Yasmin Mogahed

Motivation Mondays: CLOSED DOORS

A door opens to me. I go in and am faced with a hundred closed doors. Antonio Porchia
Often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. Helen Keller
There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception. Aldous Huxley

What Does a Closed Door mean to You? Quite often, we look at a closed door as a negative symbol; it can represent a denial or rejection of expectations or opportunities but that is NOT entirely true. A closed door can be beneficial in that a denial or slammed door we experience can lead us in a new and better direction. A rejection can be a form of protection against possible adversities attached to what we might believe to be good but actually isn’t. Over the years, I have had my share of rejections and while some hurt and led nowhere, others opened new and far more beneficial doors for me. I remember one job I was so eager to have because I felt supremely qualified for it. I applied, did everything right and was in the running as one of the final 3 candidates.
When the choice was made and 2 of us were cut, I was very upset. As far as I was concerned, I was the most qualified for the position but that didn’t matter. They picked someone else and I had to move on. The door closed on that position and I found a far more rewarding opportunity that was growth driven and helped me learn new skills. Many months later, I heard the position had opened again. This time, I was not in a hurry because I also learned that it was not an ideal work environment to be in. The Closed Door had offered me protection and a new direction, not rejection. Think of your closed door experiences and the lessons learned.

READ: Inspiration: The Story Behind The Door

“Nothing in life has happened to you. It’s happened for you. Every disappointment. Every wrong. Even every closed door has helped make you into who you are.” Joel Osteen

Motivation Mondays: CLOSED DOORS

Another train will come. Why rush? Why worry? Why go crazy? Another train will come. And sure enough, another train going my way was pulling into the station. My bad mood evaporated. I entered the car smiling, certain that there would be more missed trains in my life, more closed doors in my face, but there would always be another train rumbling down the tracks in my direction. Esmeralda Santiago
We must open the doors of opportunity. But we must also equip our people to walk through those doors. Lyndon B. Johnson

Is it Wise To Walk Away? I know we have all heard sayings about breaking down doors, walking through closed doors to grab at our opportunities but, is this sage advice 100% of the time? I don’t think so. Sure, we want doors of opportunity to open for us and we also want to be prepared for the challenges and growth that come from our experiences. However, there are times when we can choose to not walk through certain doors or be grateful that some doors stay shut. If walking through a door would lead us into a chaotic or hostile situation, it would be best to leave the door closed. Why? Because it is a mark of honor to avoid an unnecessary fight; especially a fight with someone who has nothing to lose. So, just as we are encouraged to choose our battles, we must also meditate on the wisdom of choosing our doors. If we pay attention and reflect on our situations, we will soon understand more about our outcomes. They are not random. Think about your own experiences.

READ: Pink Flamingos: A Preposterous Story

The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for MAR 2018/APR 2018 are:

MARCH

03/04 – Women’s History Month, National Nutrition Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, American Red Cross Month, 08 International Women’s Day, World Kidney Day, 04 Academy Awards
03/11 – 11 Daylight Savings, 14 Pi Day, 15 World Consumer Rights Day, 17 St Patrick’s Day
03/18 – 19 St Joseph, 20 International Day of Happiness, 21 World poetry Day, 22 World Water day, 24 Earth Hour
03/25 – Palm Sunday, 29 Holy Thursday, 30 Good Friday, 31 Passover

APRIL

04/01   –   01, April Fool’s Day, 02, Autism Awareness, 06, International Day Sport Development Peace, 07,  World Health Day,
04/08   –   10, National Siblings Day, 10, Equal Pay Day,  12, Holocaust Remembrance Day
04/15  –   17 Tax Day,  NationalVolunteerWeek
04/22  –    22, Earth Day,  23, World Book Day, 27, Arbor Day
01/29  –   29, International Jazz Day

Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2018?

– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.

— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab

More Below!

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Alexander Graham Bell

Motivation Mondays: CLOSED DOORS

Motivation Mondays: CLOSED DOORS

The doors of wisdom are never shut. Benjamin Franklin
I knew well that the only way I could get that door open was to knock it down; because I knocked all of them down. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
You have to come to your closed doors before you get to your open doors… What if you knew you had to go through 32 closed doors before you got to your open door? Well, then you’d come to closed door number eight and you’d think, ‘Great, I got another one out of the way’… Keep moving forward. Joel Osteen
The lips of the wise are as the doors of a cabinet; no sooner are they opened, but treasures are poured out before thee. Akhenaton

Is Your Door Open or Closed? While we are on the subject of external doors, we need to consider the internal doors we carry around with us. They are as important (maybe more so) as the real, concrete doors we encounter in our lives. As I mentioned earlier, a closed door can be beneficial in that a denial or slammed door we experience can lead us in a new and better direction. A rejection can be a form of protection against possible adversities attached to what we might believe to be good for us but actually isn’t. But, far more important are the internal doors we carry with us. Happiness is an inside job and external factors offer a temporary band aid. If we don’t take care of our inner dialog and work through our baggage, we’d stay stuck in certain areas of our lives. How many of our internal doors are sealed shut because of hurts and fears? Food for thought.  We are here to experience life’s ups and downs and to be a blessing to others… So use affirmations to refocus on what feeds/fuels you. BREATHE! More affirmations later

READ: Reflections: Change Happens – A Story…
Have a happy, peaceful and productive week ahead!

Any Zen Antics stories via

Positive Motivation Tip: Closed doors lead to Better doors. Stay faithful

Motivation Mondays is open to anyone who wishes to share a motivational quote, photo, personal challenge or a post that encourages others to start the week on an upbeat note.
Basic Instructions: Each week, I will have a motivation word to help us create a response. (See listed words for the months above/below)
Email address: You may email or share your post as a comment and I will add it to the round-up of related posts. email it to: contact(@)mirthandmotivation(.)com
Category tag: – Share your post using Motivation Mondays
Twitter hashtag: – Use this on Twitter #MotvnM
Dedicated Page: There is a dedicated page for Motivation Mondays. It has the same instructions and will include other helpful tools and a link to the round-up
Facebook Page: MotivationOnMondays Join our page and add your post and/or any motivational piece you think will be helpful to others.
Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to compliment the page. It serves as another way to share uplifting posts and thoughts. Please join in and add your voice.

Badge: – I created a fun badge using PicMonkey’s free photo editing tools. You can create your own, use WordPress’ integrated tool on your blog or you are welcome to use mine. (see dedicated page)
Tag: – Motivation Mondays
Hashtag: – #MotvnM

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PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos, CLOSED Doors via Pixabay,  AND/OR  via  Wikipedia…

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet