Sometimes the solution is easier to see from the outside.
A few days ago, I walked into the dressing room at the gym and heard a faint knocking.
Then a voice called out asking for help.
Someone had gotten stuck inside one of the private changing rooms. She had tried to open the door from the inside, but it simply wouldn’t open.
From the outside, though, I was able to open it easily.
It was such a simple moment, but it stayed with me.
Because how often does something similar happen in our lives and businesses?
When the Door Feels Stuck
When we’re inside a situation, our circumstances, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and old patterns can make it difficult to see a way forward.
We try one thing.
Then another.
And when nothing seems to change, our natural response can be to try harder.
But what if trying harder isn’t always the answer?
What if there is something influencing the situation that you simply cannot see from where you are standing?
This is where I love to replace the question:
“What else can I do?”
with:
“I wonder what else might be influencing this?”
That one question can open the door to a completely different kind of awareness.
What Else Might Be Influencing This?
Maybe an old belief is influencing the choices you’re making today.
Maybe you’re repeating a pattern that once protected or supported you but no longer serves where you want to go.
Maybe something that worked beautifully in a previous chapter is no longer the right approach for this one.
Maybe there is another possibility you haven’t considered.
Or perhaps you’re simply so close to the situation that it’s difficult to see it from another perspective.
This is something I see often in my work.
We can be intelligent, capable, experienced, and deeply committed to our growth and still have blind spots.
Sometimes the patterns influencing our results are happening beneath the surface of our conscious awareness.
And if we can’t see them, it can be very difficult to change them.
The Gift of an Outside Perspective
The experience at the gym also reminded me of something one of my past clients once said about working with me:
“You opened the door for me to see.”
I’ve always loved that description because that’s how I see my role.
I’m not here to tell my clients what they should do.
I hold a Light so they can begin to see what may have been hidden from their view, clear what is standing in the way, and discover their own path forward.
Sometimes another person can ask the question we haven’t thought to ask.
They can notice the pattern we’re too close to recognize.
They can help us see a possibility that has been there all along.
Just like that changing-room door, something that feels impossible to open from one side may look completely different from the other.
A Question for You
Think about one area of your life or business that currently feels stuck.
Perhaps you’ve been trying to grow your business, increase your income, become more visible, make a decision, move a project forward, or create a change in another area of your life.
Instead of immediately looking for another strategy or something else to do, pause for a moment.
Ask yourself:
“I wonder what else might be influencing this?”
Then become curious.
What assumptions are you making?
What patterns keep repeating?
Is there an old story influencing how you see the situation?
Is something that once worked no longer supporting you?
Could there be another perspective you haven’t considered yet?
And is there someone who could help you see what is difficult to see from the inside?
Give yourself some space and notice what comes forward.
Because a stuck door doesn’t necessarily mean there is no way through.
Sometimes the door that feels impossible to open from the inside can be opened with a little help from the outside.
We’re not meant to walk this journey alone.
Support is available.
Sometimes, all we need to do is ask. 💜✨
