The feeling of having door after door closed, or slammed, and taking with it the possibility of reaching your goals can be crushing. It’s so tempting to just fall down and stop. Stop moving. Stop trying. Stop reaching for your dreams. It can be especially devastating when those doors are slammed shut by others telling you that what you have now is the best you can obtain, that there is nothing more. But it’s just one door. One possible road you can take. There are other ways to get there. Other doors and paths that may not look the way you envisioned but can open possibilities that you never imagined.

Several years ago, I had a clear idea what my life should look like. I had a clear idea of what door I needed to walk through to get there. When I suddenly felt that option close, I was astounded. How could this be? I had envisioned for so long that this was the way I needed to go. It took someone else pointing out to me that maybe, just maybe, I should think again and look for another way.

There were lots of other ways to get to where I wanted to be. I just had to stop and look to see which door was open.

Karen Jones

Karen Jones is the Chief of Staff at RI International. During the past eight years, she has been involved in the many initiatives at RI including Crisis Now, Zero Suicide, Hope Inc Stories, and others. The mission of RI is close to her heart and the driving force in everything she does to support the people served at RI from guests to employees to our partners.