The Door

I think about doors a lot. A door represents a decision, an opportunity, and a cost. On the other side could be a bright, shiny day, or it could be cold, miserable, and uncomfortable. We don’t open doors randomly. We open them because we believe there’s something on the other side worth the effort.

Some doors are easy. If there’s food on the other side, I don’t hesitate. The second I hear my Grubhub delivery driver knock, I’m off the couch immediately. That door opens fast. No preparation. No resistance. The reward is immediate, comfortable, and familiar, so the decision is effortless. I'm back on that couch so fast you can see the print from where I was seated.

Other doors slow you down. When it’s raining, 48 degrees, and the wind is cutting through you, the process changes. You bundle up. You check the weather. You hesitate. Resistance shows up. But the truth is simple. You wouldn’t be leaving the house at all if there wasn’t something on the other side that mattered. A job. A workout. Growth. Opportunity. Easy rewards create fast decisions. Meaningful rewards require intention.

Life works the same way. Every single day, you’re presented with doors. Waking up is one. Choosing gratitude is one. Taking the stairs instead of the escalator. Showing up when it would be easier not to. Every door has a reward on the other side. The only question is which reward you value more.

The most successful people I know aren’t immune to resistance. They just understand it. They can see a great outcome on the other side even when there’s struggle in between. They know the cost upfront. Time. Discomfort. Consistency. Sacrifice. And they accept it anyway. Everyone wants the result. Very few people are willing to consistently pay the price.

Perspective is everything. The more often you walk through discomfort, the more familiar it becomes. The more familiar it becomes, the less power it has over you. Eventually, you stop fearing it, not because it feels good, but because you trust what’s on the other side. When the value is clear, resistance loses its grip. When it isn’t, people skip sessions, call off, or drift through life hoping effort alone is enough.

Then the opportunity shows up. The promotion. The confidence. The body you said you wanted. And the people who showed up when it was uncomfortable are ready. They’ve been through something. They struggled. They earned it. Opportunities don’t suddenly appear. They’ve always been there. Most people just weren’t prepared to see them.

That’s awareness. It’s the red car theory. You don’t see opportunity until you train yourself to look for it. And that training comes from consistently choosing the harder door.

Here’s the part that matters most.

I’ll ask my clients, “You in or out?” and they’ll look at me crazy. I get it. They just spent money. They showed up. Of course they’re in. But that’s not what I’m asking. I see you standing here, you showed up physically but where are you mentally? Half the battle is showing up. Frankly, it’s the hardest part of anything, but what you do with that opportunity is what actually counts.

That’s not just training. That’s life.

You wake up. The door is open. You’re blessed. You’ve got vision, perspective, and opportunity sitting right in front of you. The question is what are you going to do with it? Are you going to go through the motions?  You going to half-ass it? Or are you going to fully opt in and take advantage of what’s available to you?

Don’t just open the door. Step through it with intention. Be present. Opt in.

That’s where growth lives.