My daughter attended a presentation recently, as part of a “study abroad” program. There was a slide about opening doors. Opening doors in Italy must be a challenge. The slide said “if you are using your entire body weight to try to open a door, rethink your strategy”. In other words, if you are pushing, maybe you should try pulling. Or vice versa.

I visited her recently, and I was pushing on a door with all of my weight. She was standing behind me and said “rethink your strategy”.

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I know some people who are going through life situations right now, who could use that advice. They are leaning up against their life situations with all of their weight, with no success.

I mention that because I can be the same way. Sometimes I keep trying a failed strategy, hoping that this time, the outcome will be different.
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One of the best things about my life is that I don’t have to continue pursuing failed strategies. I have wise people in my life who stand behind me and say “rethink your strategy”. It’s happened several times. Sometimes those failed strategies are about unimportant things like opening doors. But sometimes those failed strategies involve really important life lessons.

Every once in a while, I have a realization that “this isn’t working”. One of my friends calls those moments “epiphanets”, or “little epiphanies”. At the time I experience those little epiphanies, they feel like failures. But I look back on them and I realize that they were important turning points. I’m better off having had those experiences.

Rethink Your Strategy,

Hal