What's Your 'Sliding Doors' Moment?
As printed in My Village News March 2021.
I’ve always been spellbound by the idea of sliding doors, the notion that seemingly insignificant daily decisions can alter the trajectories of our lives. I was first introduced to the idea as a kid in the nineties by a Hollywood movie of the same name starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
In the opening scenes of Sliding Doors Gwyneth’s character Helen gets fired from her job then makes her way home via the London Underground. When she has to run to catch her train the story splits in two wildly different scenarios - the life where Helen caught the tube to make it back home early and one where she didn’t.
Now I’m in my thirties I find myself in bed very late or in the wee small hours inspecting small occurrences of my life and wondering whether they were my sliding doors moments. This “question every moment” mindset makes parenting more burdensome because I wonder about all the tiny ways I am currently unknowingly stuffing up my future adult daughter just by living out my own quirk-filled existence.
Millennials are the most tech-saturated generation. On top of the load of information we have available 24/7, social media also stokes a sliding doors way of thinking. Instagram and Facebook are basically digital gossip magazines where acquaintances and former flames are the stars. They’re a speedy way to find false proof - at any time of the day - the sliding door you took was the bad one.
The only way I’ve found to slow down this shoulda, coulda, woulda train is by taking note of this the good decisions I make daily, ones that make me a better parent and therefore human. So here goes:
I have quit social media: I don’t post and fight the urge to look at it
I have reduced my caffeine intake: coffee made me more psycho
I have started doing yoga classes: just once a week is enough to bring me needed mindfulness
I see a therapist: game changer, mind straightener
I write this very honest column
Your turn.
