Not Every Closed Door Is Locked—Push

I used to take rejection as a final answer. A closed door? That meant I wasn’t supposed to enter. A denied opportunity? I assumed it wasn’t for me. I’d turn around, convince myself that it just “wasn’t meant to be,” and walk away.

Until I learned that not every closed door is locked.

Sometimes, doors aren’t locked—they’re just stuck. And the only difference between the people who walk away and the people who walk through? One decided to push.

The Psychology of Assumed Barriers

Psychologists refer to this as learned helplessness—when past failures condition us to believe that effort is useless, even when it’s not (Seligman, 1972). If you’ve been told “no” enough times, if you’ve faced enough obstacles, if you’ve been conditioned to believe that rejection is permanent, you stop trying—even when success is still within reach.

You don’t check if the door is actually locked. You just assume it is.

But assumptions aren’t reality.

Many of the world’s most successful people have one defining trait: they kept pushing.

Oprah was fired from her first job in television. Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school—three times. J.K. Rowling was turned down by 12 publishers.

They could have taken “no” as the final answer. Instead, they pushed anyway.

The Difference Between Those Who Enter and Those Who Walk Away

How many times have you assumed something was impossible—only to realize later that it was completely within your reach?

The job you didn’t apply for because you thought you weren’t qualified. The business you didn’t start because you assumed the market was too competitive. The conversation you didn’t have because you feared rejection.

How many of those moments weren’t failures of opportunity—but failures to push?

Research on grit and perseverance by psychologist Angela Duckworth shows that success isn’t about talent alone—it’s about sustained effort over time (Duckworth, 2016). The ones who make it aren’t always the smartest or most talented. They’re just the ones who refused to quit.

Push Until You Know for Sure

So, here’s the challenge: The next time you stand before a closed door, test it.

Don’t just assume it won’t open. Don’t just accept rejection as the final word. Don’t just walk away because it looks impossible.

Push.

Because some of the best opportunities don’t come wrapped in easy access. Sometimes, they’re waiting for you to prove how much you want them.

And the moment you realize that? You stop waiting for permission to walk through doors meant for you.

References

• Seligman, M. E. (1972). Learned helplessness. Annual Review of Medicine, 23(1), 407-412.

• Duckworth, A. L. (2016). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Scribner.