Life is full of doors.
Some open to wide, clear roads leading us forward.
Some open to twisted lanes that go nowhere.
And some, though they look inviting, beautiful or irresistible, lead to a cliff’s edge.
The trouble is, we can’t always tell which door will take us to progress and which will waste our time. Many doors in life open easily such as opportunities, distractions, temptations, short-term thrills etc. but only a few actually take us closer to our real goals.
The 2015 Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Australia is a good example.
During the tournament, it felt like the Indian team had found the perfect door to win the trophy. Seven straight wins, unbeatable form, a nation’s confidence behind them. Everyone believed the next step would be the final… and the trophy. But when the door opened, it revealed not victory, but a defeat by 95 runs.
That loss hit people harder than it should have.
We all know in sports there’s only one winner, and someone must lose. But knowing is not the same as accepting. Reactions poured in, some stood by the team, thanking them for their earlier wins. Others slammed them with criticism, digging into their personal lives, even blaming one player’s fiancee for his performance. It was as if people couldn’t handle the idea that a door, they were so sure of had led to disappointment.
But isn’t that how life is for all of us?
We’ve each opened many doors in the past believing they’d lead to progress. A job, a relationship, a business venture etc. only to find they opened into a dead end. And when it happens to us, we often hide the failure. But when it happens to others, we feel entitled to judge or mock them.
We usually avoid looking at our own lives or even allowing anyone to see the emotional trauma that we go through. In the past we must have gone through many situations but they are hidden from people, because in our opinion, only weak people express emotions, so we usually suppress our emotions or do not take up any big task that will expose us or make us face our fears. Even if we fail in small tasks, that failure can be easily hidden, but if someone fails in a big leap, we are free to criticize them or teach them a lesson that we never learned.
But does that lead us anywhere? Do you think you are able to achieve your goals by going in that direction? Not at all.
The truth is, not every door is worth opening.
Some paths are distractions.
Some are escape routes we use to avoid the hard work.
Some pull us away from our goals entirely.
If we want real progress, we must learn to close the wrong doors firmly and open only those that take us forward — even if they’re harder to unlock. Determination alone is not enough. We must choose with wisdom, act with discipline, and keep walking, no matter how many wrong doors we’ve faced before.
Whether it’s the Indian cricket team or ordinary people like us, the principle is the same:
We can’t control every result, but we can control which doors we choose to open.
So, choose wisely. Close what holds you back. And open the door that leads to your goals.
In life, the doors we choose define the paths we walk. Some may lead to setbacks, others to unexpected growth and a few to the success we’ve always dreamed of. If you’re at a crossroads and unsure which door to open, the right guidance can make all the difference. Through life, career, and business coaching, I help individuals identify their true goals, shut out distractions, and move forward with confidence. After all, the right door is not just found, it’s chosen with clarity.
Same blog in Marathi दरवाजा तोच उघडा जो ध्येयापर्यंत पोहोचवतो
Blog by 'Life Coach & Business Mentor' Shailesh Tandel
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Sir it is a eyeopener statments. We always want that mistake can be done only by themselves. Thanks
That’s true & that’s one of the area where we loose lot of time.