Your level of success very much depends a lot on the opportunities available to you, as well what you choose to do with them. But how do you increase the number of open doors in your life?

Firstly, you hold the door open for others.

Opening a door for someone to pass through first or holding a door open for the person behind you is a simple kindness that can go a very long way.

There is no kinder way to let a perfect stranger know that you acknowledge their humanity than by holding the door open for them. Likewise, there is no better way to acknowledge the humanity of someone who is being polite than to thank them.

So, when you can, hold the door for others, instead of waiting for someone to come you (or stand at the door with arms full of groceries), make yourself available and offer your assistance whenever possible.

Listen.

Learning how to actively listen is a great opportunity to build and deepen both your personal and business relationships. It’s a skill that can help you absorb more information and process what another person is saying or feeling.

Comprehending what others are saying and offering valuable feedback is an important part of keeping the door open for others. People tend to gravitate toward active listeners because they feel valued and respected when talking.

Learning how to actively listen builds and deepens both your personal and business relationships in many enviroments. It’s a skill that helps you absorb more information and process what the other person is saying.

So, listen attentively — what is needed of you or what you need might just be in the current conversations you are having.

Be compassionate and curious.

Just like active listening, being compassionate and curious creates a different experience when we hold the door for someone.  Imagine the experience of someone just holding the door, but instead, they say something like "my pleasure, you had your hands full" or "your child is beautiful, how old is she?" 

Holding the door is not just something that we can do for someone, but for ourselves as well.  By being curious, we learn more about someone else and often times we learn new things and are able to develop new relationships (new doors).

Connect where it really matters.

To resonate with others, we need to connect when it matters. This nurtures both us and others, and also earns trust. Just as in cooking, timing is everything.

How do you feel when someone holds the door open for you—especially when you’ve got your hands full? When would you hold open a door for another person? We may kindly open a door, to find the person has no intention of walking through it and continues down the stairwell because they’re heading to the floor below.

In this case, we did not understand their needs. We may even find ourselves bending over backwards for some people, without consequence. This is the equivalent of opening doors willy-nilly down a long corridor without anyone walking through them.

At worst, we might inadvertently (or, even intentionally) slam a door in someone’s face. Which might hurt — even more so if we had offered to hold it for them and they were counting on it to be open.

Holding a door open at the right time represents tending to a perceived need and meeting expectations. For most people, all we want is to be understood and appreciated. By connecting when it matters, it allows others to trust you because they feel that you understand them and are actually looking out for their interests.

Holding the doors for other’s will keep you happy and healthy and open doors for you.

So, hold the door open.

It’s only polite.

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