It amazes me on how many opportunities, chances, breaks that we get in our lifetime, but a good handful of individuals never jump on them. My entire success realm started with different opportunities that came to me and I took them no matter if I knew how to run with it or not. They are in front of us each day and it comes down to what you see in them that could potentially help you in the long run.
By no means is every opportunity a good one to take, it’s a matter of the steps we take to reap the successes that we can get from them. Numerous people have a problem of saying yes to each situation, which is hazardous in the long run; if you do too many tasks at one time, you can lose focus on your main priorities. Therefore, knowing how to take the right opportunities and prioritize is a big step.
Before I even jump on an opportunity I take a step back and think about these following questions.
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Will it help me in the future?
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Do I see value in the action that I am about to take?
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Is there even a slight chance that I will benefit from this?
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How many other things do I have going on?
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Does it fit into my main goal?
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What are the opportunity costs I will have by taking it?
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Are there any barriers that are stopping me from taking this opportunity?
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Do I ultimately want to take the opportunity?
These set of questions help me evaluate the task that is in front of me, and if it is something I can manage with my daily life or if it will benefit me at all. Numerous times they do align with those questions above, but some don’t which is when I know that the opportunity isn’t for me.
Now, even though a lot of opportunities don’t give you the time to sit down and think through all of these questions, it’s important to know that you are open to it. When I got my first big opportunity I didn’t go through any questions, and I wasn’t there to seek one – it just happened. If you are in college there are a lot of surprising opportunities that you can get from participating in different activities and attending events. It’s a matter of taking the initiative of putting yourself in a situation where you are in a room filled with opportunities.
Many of the ‘big breaks’ that I got in my college career was out of the blue and I wasn’t there to seek an opportunity. Which in my eyes, are the best opportunities because they usually turn out to be 10x better than what you expect.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t create your own opportunities! Like what I said earlier, put yourself in situations that will higher your chances of getting favorable outcomes. Once you get a couple of big experiences under your belt everything turns into a domino effect. One by one you start seeing successes from those opportunities which will eventually turn into what you have been hoping for in your future.
Success, goals, visions, and missions all start by taking one step in the right direction.
Don’t miss out on your first step.
Sabah Ali
#theclockisticking
