Taking advantage of opportunities

Often we get so preoccupied that we miss opportunities. But there are the other times when our skepticism causes us to miss the timing of an opportunity. This is a classic problem.

This past few weeks the economy has tanked, stock market crashed, the credit market stalled, 401ks dropped by 35% and most people can not get a car or home loan. This was not a surprise but most ignored or denied the down turn was coming. Many others took advantage and got out of investments or real estate and made a lot of money. Which were you? Yep me too!

This is not just a unique situation it starts when we are very young about 2 years old when we say “NO” to everything.

As a child one of the only things you have control over is your participation. You can do or not do—eat or not eat, go to bed or keep bugging your parents, get into things or not, well, you know what I am talking about.

As you become more aware of subtle ways to say “NO” you stay home rather than going with your family, opt out of activates and still refuse to eat stuff you don’t know. If you do not reevaluate this resistance you become an outsider, isolated by your own skepticism and miss learning opportunities and much more.

There is an adjustment that needs to be made.

Just to give a bit of a background. I am late to jump on almost every opportunity that comes along. Examples: almonds, corn and apples ripening, I usually miss them thinking that I should give them more time or just don’t want them when they come ripe. Then there is the black bananas that are always on my counter waiting to be made into bread--missed lots of those opportunities!

And sometimes folks ask me to do things and my first reaction is “no thanks”—reciently I was asked to join others to watch the debates, the night of it I decided that I didn’t want to go then the next day I thought I would have liked to talk to someone about it. Darn missed that opportunity! Or...I don’t feel like doing the dishes or getting dressed that day and someone important turns up at my door—bad impression. Darn missed that one.

Oh, it is in all sorts of little things that we say “no” first then realize we have been foolish and missed an opportunity. Anyway, it is worth thinking about your own attitude about things. Food, for example, so many of us have found delight in new tastes that to refuse to try something is really missing an opportunity. Going places, for example, how many wonderful things could we have done if we hadn’t wanted to be different and not go. This economic situation—if we had listened to those who were sounding the warning we may have avoided this crash. And the list goes on.

Think about opportunity—What is it? How can I take advantage of it? What do I really risk? What could it hurt to listen, think and make informed judgment? Wow! What a thought. At 2 we jumped to “NO”. Is it possible we have grown out of this resistance? Should we? I think yes. Opportunities are knocking jump on them!