When my friend Gary Barnes, in Colorado, posted this picture, it just looked like a funny pic.  The more I thought about it, the more life situations I could see.  Two scenarios came to mind.

Sometimes in life, we come up against gates. And the gates are closed and locked. Many times we accept that going through the gate is the only way to reach our goal and we never question if there’s another way to get to the other side.  We’re here.  What we want is on the other side of the gate.  Since we can’t get the gate open, we give up on our dream. 

If we’d just stepped back and realized we could go around the gate, we’d achieve what we set out to do.  When you find yourself with a locked gate blocking your path to what you want, instead of giving up, see if there’s another way around.

The second life situation that I thought about was when we question why.  Sometimes we look at situations like this and ask “Why does the gate need to be closed?” 

The answer more often than not is that it’s a gate and gates need to be closed unless someone or something is passing through them.

A logical reply might be to point out that there is no fence.  Sadly that is often answered by “We’re not talking about the fence, we’re talking about the gate.”  There are rules.  The rules need to be followed.  KEEP GATE CLOSED.  Don’t question the rules.

The third situation is a combination of the first two.  We question why the gate is closed, get the above reply and point out that because there is no fence, we could just walk around. 

This typically will bring the reply: “We don’t go around the gate.  Gates are there for a reason. They are to be used.”

So when you find yourself in a situation where the gate is closed and locked, think about this picture. Break the rules.  Find another way.  I printed the picture and have it on my desk to remind me every day.

More Bill Packard

Bill Packard lives in Union and is the founder of BPackard.com.  He is a speaker, author, small business coach and consultant.