I grew up as a huge fan of the sound of music, just ask my college roommate who was NOT a fan of the movie. One of my favorite lines from the movie is ” When the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.” Of course the Reverend Mother is referring to Maria not become a nun, but instead the wife of Captain von Trapp and mother to his 7 children.

The other day I was pondering this and realized that my office didn’t have any windows. It brought me to the question of how do I find a window that isn’t there?  Here are a few tips to find the open window, even when you don’t see it.

What did you lose?

The first question you should ask yourself is what did you lose? Sometimes you lose an actual physical thing, other times it’s just a feeling, like a sense of security.

Did you need it or want it?

There are things we lose that are necessities, while other things are wants, knowing what something is to us, will help us define how to replace it.

I just bought an Apple Watch, if I lost it, It would be really annoying, but it’s not something I need. It can be replaced on any timeline, even though my first thought will be to replace it right away because I think I need it.

However, if I lost my sense of security, that’s different. That’s something I need to function properly from day to day. Without it, a person loses their way.

How can I get it back?

Sometimes it’s easy. If I could afford another Apple Watch, I could go out and buy one. Or I could use my old Fitbit until I save up money to replace it.

For a loss of a sense of security, that’s MUCH harder and something that happens over time. It takes small consistent daily actions. You have to be intentional about it and fight the urge to run in the opposite direction. You won’t notice the change either, until one day months later you look back and remember the person you were in that moment of fear.

The result

Finding that open window and moving towards and through the window won’t always be easy. But, it will be worth it as long as you know what you lost and why it’s important. Once you get it back, you’l appreciate it even more.