Growing up in the 70s was a classic time to be a kid and watching the rise of many famous game shows. Who could forget The Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal, Hollywood Squares, or The Gong Show?
We spent a lot of time at our Grandmother’s home during the week in the Summer, so my mother could work. She would make us breakfast and we would tune into the Price is Right and Bob Barker to watch people try to win the top prize by having the closest bid.
I guess it was educational in the sense that it taught us to pay attention to the value of products. I just liked watching Barker get mauled by the over-excited people who couldn’t control themselves. Now, that was funny.
Another show we enjoyed watching was Match Game where contestants would guess the best choice to finish a sentence and hope the celebrities would match their answer. The Gong Show was also one of my favorites growing up. I especially enjoyed The Unknown Comedian as I wanted to be a comedian at that age (something my mother would like to forget).
Not knowing what was behind that door on many of those shows with the possibility it could be a ‘brand new car!’ made the suspense and intrigue of watching fun. Deep down, we all wished we could win that new car. But, if we couldn’t, it was fun watching others enjoy that moment. The game shows connected us at the level most of us lived. They challenged us to think and made us laugh. They gave us something to look forward to.
Sometimes, our lives can offer us multiple doors to choose from. Each door promising us something new and exciting. Possibly even riches. Yet, most of the time, we pick the door that has laundry detergent or a set of tires.
It’s not always easy to make that choice of which door to pick. I know, I’ve had to do it many times and it never gets easier. Sometimes, we’d rather not have to choose and stick with the door we chose years ago because it’s comfortable (speaking mainly about career choices and not our marriages… just to be clear!).
The other morning, I was walking to get my coffee and a light came on inside of me regarding the choice I’d made several years ago to step out and try photography as a full-time career. Because it didn’t work out like I’d thought it might, I chose another door and it has been a good and stable choice. But, I’ve beaten myself up daily over that decision.
Well, the other day, I realized that I’d reached a point of healing and of forgiving myself. When that light came on in my heart, I just said to myself, ‘Brad, even though it didn’t work out, you tried. You gave it a shot and that’s something you can be proud of. You had the courage and at least took a shot at it…’
It was as if a load lifted off my shoulders. I had finally forgiven myself and let go of what I saw as a failure and having chosen the wrong door. It was the right door; at that time. It still may be in the future. But knowing that I at least tried, is all I need.
Today, if you’ve picked some doors that didn’t open to what you thought they would and beat yourself up about it, I want to encourage you to look ahead. Be thankful that you at least tried. Forgive yourself if you’re beating yourself up over it and look forward to the next door. Who knows, maybe the price will be right, and you will win the big prize…
