Do you ever wonder how your life would be different if everything ended up working out the way you thought it would? Sort of like the movie Sliding Doors?
Sliding door moments are the seemingly inconsequential everyday moments that make or break the most important relationships in our lives.
In the movie Sliding Doors, Gwyneth Paltrow plays Helen, a woman whose life goes in two wildly different directions based on whether she does or doesn’t catch a train.
In the first scenario, she dodges onto the train and arrives home to discover her boyfriend in bed with another woman.
In the second, she just misses catching him and he strings her along for weeks as her life continues on a downward spiral.
The movie has everything to do with the central question. “What if that one little thing had happened differently?”
Of course in life there will always be roads not taken, missed moments and unmade choices. There will always be selves we never get to encounter.
What if I’d never gone to that party or answered that email or taken that job? What if I’d moved to another city? What if I’d answered that interview question in a different way?
When my personal and professional life went up in flames two years ago, I had no idea I was being launched toward what I was really supposed to be doing in my life.
That was having my own business, helping women through Women Who Wow and getting off the hamster wheel of what my life was supposed to look like at my age. And I wouldn’t be doing what I love every single day.
When I lost my job and my significant other left me out of the blue, I wasn’t sure where I was going to go or do next, but I knew I was going to go forward no matter what.
I knew I needed to do something to inspire others to reach their potential. And I knew that I would never be in a position where a man was going to have power over me when it came to where I lived.
Remember being rejected is being redirected. Reframe it. Take the power back. The way you talk to yourself is so important especially after experiencing a major setback.
Everything that happens (or doesn’t happen) is meant to teach you something and push you towards the right path even though that path may not be what you had originally planned.
Realize that bigger things are at play and things really do happen for a reason.
If you listen to your intuition, and I mean REALLY listen to it, you’ll find your way no matter what has happened to you in the past and no matter what age you are.
Trust the process – you’re not too old and it’s not too late. Ever.
Doors in life are constantly opening and closing. The ones that are closed are not meant for you – don’t keep knocking on them. Be open to the ones that do open.
Have you had any Sliding Doors moments?