Your Beliefs Are Trapping You! Damn, Guess We Should Just Give Up Then... Nah, That’s Not Our Style. Part 9.
"Keeping All Doors Open": Reflecting on the Biggest Nonsense Ever
Imagine yourself in a hallway with 1,000 open doors. What do you do? No, seriously, close your eyes and imagine it. Yeah, like the stock photo that makes an article more engaging (except I don’t use those on my site).
So? What’s the verdict? Is it overwhelming?
Exactly. Walking down that hallway is what you usually advise your bright and shining young adult.
And as if that weren’t enough of a problem, here’s the bad news: you’re probably shooting yourself in the foot, too.
Sure, in 9th grade, sticking to general education tracks seems fine. It’s the dream of every ambitious parent.
But here’s the issue: by senior year, it’s just a trap.
The strategy is to keep going and figure it out later? It’s “too early,” they’re “not ready”? I call that the ostrich policy.
The "I’m Keeping My Options Open" syndrome is like saying, “I’ll learn every language in the world so I’m not limited in my future travels.”
Or dreaming of being an entrepreneur but waiting years for the perfect idea to strike.
Here’s the twist: by now, many doors have already closed.
And the real kicker? He’s enrolled in engineering school, or she’s studying communications (yes, I went there with gender roles), and no one really knows why they’re working so hard.
Not deeply, anyway.
Working just for the sake of working doesn’t work. So, sure, let’s throw in a need for “methodology” here, a bit of “organization” there... but the real issue lies elsewhere.
The Paradox That Kills Motivation
Picture this for a moment…
Scenario A: “I want to be the best pastry chef in the world!”
Scenario B: “I’m keeping all my options open. Maybe I’ll be a telecom engineer, a developer, or a Maine Coon breeder…” (shoutout to Miss Perez).
Now, the question: which one will wake up at 4 AM to practice making macarons?
And there lies the problem: no action, no validation of ideas, no prior experience in their backpack. They’ll stay stuck in their routine, discovering little beyond the latest level of Counter-Strike or the newest Zara jacket.
(Yes, I went gendered again. It’s deliberate—to point out how our lovely education system shapes individual identity in the dumbest ways.)
The Tough Question (That’s Good for You)
Conceptually, what do you prefer:
- To have 1,000 open doors and remain in the hallway.
- To pick ONE door and discover an entire world behind it.
What’s going to create drive?
The Little Secret No One Tells You
Here’s the irony: the more you excel in ONE direction, the more new doors open naturally. Steve Jobs didn’t “keep his options open”—he obsessively pursued his vision. And look where it led him! (Granted, he didn’t have a pocket screen buzzing constantly.)
Today’s Challenge
I have a simple yet powerful exercise for you. Yep, I just dropped the magic word: powerful.
Take five minutes (seriously, time yourself) and have them write this:
“In an ideal world, without any constraints, I would be...”
Not “I could be,” not “I might consider being,” but “I would be.”
Are they stuck?
You know what to do.
It’s never too late to choose THEIR door.
