How an Online Quiz Changed my Life Perspective

Feeling Stuck

Do you ever feel “stuck” in the current place you are in?

Perhaps you have a dream career, or perhaps you dream of having your own business. Regardless of what your aspirations are, you may feel as if you are unable to realistically pursue it. Neither money nor clients grow on trees, and this hinders so many of us from continuing to push forward.

We can so easily convince ourselves that we are not currently in a place where we can feasibly pursue our aspirations, whether it is due to finances, time constraints, stress, burnout, etc.

Although no one is able to accomplish every single thing they ever try to do, we oftentimes prohibit ourselves from accomplishing things that are actually feasible. They may not be easily done, but challenges are part of life. Without them, life would seem quite mundane and repetitive.

Story time

Let me share a quick story. The other night, being the true procrastinator I can be, I became momentarily sucked into some online quizzes.

One such quiz was titled, “What inspirational quote are you?” I instantly clicked.

‘My Quote’

The chosen quote was written by Milton Berle, and says the following:

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” -Milton Berle

I love this quote and it really does nail one of my biggest life philosophies.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to utilize my life to help as many people as I could, and to leave a positive mark on the world. Yes, my daily life choices can help me achieve this. However, I wanted to be able to do more for even more people. Yet, I became discouraged, and found that my life circumstances prevented me from being able to do some of the things I wished to do.

After years of soul searching, I realized that all of the situations I have been faced with in life were actually fuel to make this dream a reality. I have so many ideas, and my heart genuinely smiles as I come up with each and every one of them.

However, I have been hit with multiple barriers along the way, primarily financially and stress-related that, quite honestly, made me think that maybe all of these ideas really were just a “dream;” one that could not be turned into my reality.

Even when I felt as if I overcame one barrier, another one seemed to pop up. I found myself immersed with other life situations that were very time consuming, again stripping what I saw as valuable time that I could utilize to accomplish these goals. I wanted to give up.

Scratch that, I didn’t WANT to give up; I got to a place where I wondered if that was the logical thing for me to do. Perhaps I had the skillset and passion, but I lacked the proper resources, and the doors to even open to get to another place.

I have heard so many stories from people who felt that exact way. Being persistent can get exhausting after a while, especially when confronted with so many perceived obstacles that convince us that perhaps it is a pointless effort.

My Life Motto

When you feel as if you don’t have the resources, challenge yourself to see just how resourceful you can be. After all, YOU are the best resource you could ever have.

I have utilized this in so many aspects of my life, yet, what I have recently discovered is that I have been failing to apply it to the one part of my life where I needed it the most: embarking on my life’s journey. I was looking at the big picture; where I wanted to be years from now, instead of breaking it up into attainable goals to bring myself to the place I ultimately wanted to be…instead of approaching it one door at a time.

Looking back, it doesn’t surprise me that I felt so hopeless at times. I wanted everything to work out THEN. I didn’t want to take it one step at a time, because what if it failed? Wouldn’t that mean I had let even more time slip away from me?

No wonder I was so drained and stressed; putting that amount of pressure on anyone is enough to make anyone second guess their perceived expectations and dreams versus “their reality.”

My reality, and the life circumstances I faced weren’t going to change overnight, so why did I expect my dreams to become my reality overnight?

And then the Lightbulb Goes Off…

Upon thinking about this, I came to a self realization. My lack of resources was not what was stopping me. It wasn’t that there merely wasnt a door for me to open.

What was stopping me was my lack of faith in myself to make it work, using what I currently have access to, to build to those bigger aspirations. The resources are there; we just have to be creative. We have to remember that the easiest solution is not the only one. Here is something to ponder. Take a moment to think about what you envision your ultimate life looking like; not the steps, not the journey there, but ONLY the final product.

Reality

Now, let me ask you this. If we could easily get there now, do you think that we would find joy and meaning in pursuing it? I honestly believe that we would likely merely get the goal accomplished, mark it off our “bucket list,” and then question what was next. As human beings, although we may not enjoy, or even welcome, all challenges, and all situations where we have to emerge from our comfort zone, we typically find that a significant lack of these leaves us feeling as if we aren’t making the most out of our life. We may not even realize it, but we somewhat crave challenges: they are what make our lives exciting, and give them a feeling of purpose. If something is too easily and quickly accomplished, quite honestly, we can easily get bored. It somehow loses some of its value it originally had.

Continuing to push may be difficult, and it may seem unfair that you have to jump through extra hoops based on your circumstances, especially in a world where we can so easily witness others that seemingly don’t have the same challenges.

However, and trust me when I say this, as I have had to personally learn this: when you do make progress, and when you do take one more step in the right direction, you are that much more appreciative, knowledgeable, stronger, and refueled. You also become even more confident in your abilities, realizing that you really ARE your biggest resource. Once you understand that, you become much more “unstoppable.” Life begins to look more exciting, and your goals start to look attainable.

There aren’t many things in life that come easily, but what’s the fun in life if it does? Confronting and defeating challenges and setbacks is what connects us even closer to ourselves, and gives us a feeling of purpose and meaning. It might be a long road ton get where you want to be. It might be an extremely long one, and much longer than what you see others encountering around you, and that’s discouraging for anyone.

However, always remember, if you take it one step at a time…one DOOR at a time…refusing to give up, thinking outside of the box, believing in yourself, and constantly reminding yourself of why it is so important to you to begin with, you WILL see progress, even if its merely in yourself. Never underestimate the power in that, because that is part of the key to the ultimate discovery you are seeking.

After all of those negative feelings you experience, the pride you find in succeeding, in MAKING it work when it seemed difficult or nearly impossible before, is an indescribable feeling that makes it all worth it. If everything were easy, we would be stripped of that immense feeling of happiness. Short term satisfaction is NOT worth long term dissatisfaction.

If You Didn’t Succeed, Did You Fail?

There have been many things I have not exactly succeeded at doing. I refuse to call them failures, because they have all encouraged me to understand myself in a way that I never knew was possible. They are part of my journey, and I must embrace them.

Takeaway

My main takeaway point is this: don’t get caught up in feeling bad for yourself being one of the “unlucky” ones who constantly has to deal with setbacks. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones; you are on your journey to a genuine feeling of happiness purpose that many will never discover. Dont give up. If it is your passion, there is a reason. Therefore, try not to get too discouraged. You WILL find your way to exactly where you need to be; you just have to be open to various possibilities.

Be creative and persistent. Be CONFIDENT in both your abilities and your adaptability. You will be surprised at how you see your life begin to manifest into what you want it to be, or what it SHOULD be.

Even if that comes out looking differently than you originally thought, you’ll still find purpose and fulfillment in it, because you know you’ve put in the proper work to bring yourself to that place.

Take it one step at a time, one day at a time, and soak in the present versus solely dreaming of the future or reminiscing the past.

I promise you, it is the best decision you will ever make.

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” -Milton Berle

So…go build that door…And when you encounter a door that seems extremely challenging, truly believe in your abilities to break it open. You’ll either see exactly how to do it, or which other door you should use.