The "Don't Let It Hit Ya" Exercise

When I was a kid and threatening to run away from home, my dad would say nonchalantly, “Don’t let the door hit ya on your way out.” 

 Little did I know that doors would hit me on the way out with some regularity all of my adult life. Because that’s what doors do to everyone. Doors close—professionally, emotionally, physically—whether we want them to or not.  

Today could be the last time you will ever zip up a pair of size 6 jeans. (I last zipped up a pair of size 6 jeans when I was six years old and those were, in fact, a 6X.)  

 Today could be the last time your boss steals your lunch from the office fridge because the company is about to be underbid and everyone in your department will be unemployed. (You luck out on this one because you are so happy to be free of that demeaning salad thief that you dance a Paso Dobleon the hood of your car and get picked up by the cops for excessive glee.)

 Post Paso Doble,my point is that doors close. Once they are closed for good, we have to start moving down the hallway actively looking for the next door we want to open. I call this process the Next Door Project. Because I am clever like that.

 So to get us started, I made up this easy worksheet for you. On the three red doors, write down the last three doors that closed to you. Weep a little. You can’t move on until you admit those doors are closed for good. (Seriously, let the jeans go.)

Next, think about what could be behind those six white doors and write a possibility on each one. Maybe you are wishing for a different kind of job, one you wouldn’t dread every day. Maybe you are new to the area and have no one to meet for coffee. Maybe your love life needs a boost or your spiritual life is a desert or you dream of baking an orange layer cake that would make Mary Berry gnash her teeth at the very thought of you.

Click here to get our handy dandy worksheet. Next week we will take a look at the results and make an itty bitty to do list.