Photo: brown wooden bench in hallway by Vadim Babenko, licensed under Unsplash License.
I’ve learned about a very interesting concept called Two-Way Doors while reading “Do Something, So We Can Change It!” by Allen Pike, in which he describes it as his favourite trick for getting unstuck.
Life often presents us with moments of indecision, where we’re unsure which path to take. In such situations, sometimes the best action is to “do something, so we can change it”. This anecdote isn’t just about moving forward, it’s about embracing the freedom to evolve based on experience.
In our lives, we come across decisions that feel monumental and irreversible, like one-way doors. Having/adopting a child, moving to a new country, leaving a stable job to pursue a dream, all these might seem daunting. But most of our choices are more flexible, in reality, akin to two-way doors. Picking up a new hobby, joining a group, initiating a conversation, starting a workout routine, all these are decisions we can reverse or modify after experiencing their effects.
Writing has been a two-way door for me. I used to think about writing a lot, but never really got into it. I was constantly caught up in thinking about who would read it, how they’d perceive it, and if they’d like it. Then, it hit me. To me, writing shouldn’t be about pleasing a crowd. It’s about my beliefs, the mistakes I’ve made, and the lessons I’ve learned. So, I started writing more for me, treating it as a conversation with myself.
By distinguishing between these one-way and two-way doors in our lives, we can reduce anxiety, foster action, and open ourselves to learning and growth. We can even aim to transform those seemingly irreversible decisions into more flexible ones, offering us the chance to experience more with less fear.
Life seems to be about motion, learning, and evolution. So when faced with a choice dilemma, the mantra should be: take a step, experience, and adapt. This doesn’t just enable progress, it enriches our lives with lessons learned from our own experiences.