I once formulated an allegory that had a big impact on my life, and has made an impact on the lives of others since. Enough people have recently asked me to share it that I’m going to.

Image you are in a prison.

Locked in a solitary cell.

For 7 years.

7 Years, you spend banging against the door, screaming, begging, to be let out.

Then, after seven years of banging and screaming, you hear a voice from outside.

“Hey, so, there’s actually no one out here listening to you. No one is hearing your cries for help, no one can let you out. But, the door actually isn’t even locked. It’s just a “pull” door and you’ve been pushing against it this whole time.”

Now, you are faced with two options:

The first option— and this is sadly what most people choose— is to get angry. Because this voice is saying that you’ve been stuck here for the last 7 years because of your own fucking stupidity. So the first option is to yell “Fuck you! Liar!! I’m not an idiot!!” and live out the rest of your life in your small, isolated cage.

The second option is to say, “Thank you!” By accepting that you’ve been there for the last 7 years because of yourself (a bitter pill, for about second) you can then LEAVE RIGHT NOW and be free.

By accepting this, we sometimes FEEL like we’re losing the last 7 years, by accepting that we could have had them. But in fact, those 7 years are already lost— all we lose by accepting this truth is our shackles, and we gain literally everything. The whole world awaits.

The feeling of “being wrong” is actually the feeling of “becoming more right”.