Do You Seize Opportunity?

Opportunity is around us always, however, how often do you seize the opportunities presented to you?  Have you ever stopped and reflected on the many opportunities that you have accepted and the many you have missed?

Opportunity to learn something new - if we are not learning and growing ourselves, we are dying.  If everyday is the same as the last with nothing new and exciting to learn, it affects our moods.  Life gets boring, with nothing to look forward to.  This can lead to depression, stress, and just "existing".  How many people do you know that are just going through the motions of going to work just to pay the bills, coming home and watching TV, going to bed and repeating every day?  There is so much opportunity to learn today, and it keeps life interesting.  It doesn't have to be earth shattering.  I just watched a 5 min video on the intelligence of elephants.  It taught me something new I wasn't aware of, and give you a fresh perspective, something to discuss with others, can make you more compassionate, and just a more interesting person.

Opportunity to mastermind with successful people - when we surround ourselves with others that are achieving things in their life we want, we learn distinctions that allow us to accelerate our own growth.  We tend to become like the people we surround ourselves with.  By surrounding ourselves with people that have success in their lives, it gives us the knowledge we can apply to our own results.

Opportunity to better yourself - Because I am committed to my own continued learning, I am interested in learning about a wide range of things.  I read a short post about something important to the environment the other day, and it prompted me to take different actions than I previously would have.  When we know better, we can then DO better.

Opportunity to improve your health - when we take actions to improve our health, we not only benefit personally, but we set an example for others in our families and social circles. Improving our personal health is not just about us.  It is a gift we give to those that love us.

Opportunity to get in shape - being in good physical shape is vital to living an active, full life.  If you don't keep in shape, it limits what you can take part in.  Look around at people in your age bracket.  This becomes particularly evident as we age.  Are people complaining about aches and pains and looking for excuses to get out of an exercise routine?  For instance, I hurt my neck and my knee about 6 months ago.  I absolutely needed to take the time to heal, but this was never an excuse to stop exercising for good.  My chosen exercise is yoga, and as many will know, there is a lot of stretching and strength required, which I couldn't do for several months.  However, after 4 months of giving myself the time to heal, I made a decision to get back at it and do what I COULD do.  I am not back to the level I was prior to the injury, but, I am not sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself either.  I am pushing myself to do what I can and can see an improvement every day.  I am also getting out in the garden, which is a bit tricky since I can't bend my knee to squat down, however, I am getting around it by using other methods.  As I become a grandma, I am determined to stay in shape and live life with my kids and grandkids, not sit on the sideline and watch them live their life.  This requires being in shape and making my fitness a priority in my life.

Opportunity to take a promotion - when one takes on a new role there will be new things to learn that open up new possibilities for you.  Many people avoid this because they are stuck in their ways, don't want any more responsibilities, and often have a fear of learning something new.  A promotion offers new possibilities that will often teach you things you can apply to other areas of your life, builds your self confidence and self esteem, and gives you the chance to increase your income.

Opportunity to start a new business - I fell into being an entrepreneur back in 1986.  It would have been easy to not take that opportunity because I had no experience and was scared to death.  But, my REASON for taking the opportunity was stronger than my lack of experience and fears.  I wanted to be home with our children.  THAT was my driving force, and that is what allowed me to overcome any excuses I had.  Little did I know what an incredibly powerful experience this would be for my life, and how it would shape my kids lives, when they were growing up, and today as they both are entrepreneurs themselves.
​
All of these opportunities and more are around all of us every single day.  The question to ask yourself, is, Am I seizing opportunities and living my life to the fullest, or, am I on the sideline watching others do it.  There is a massive difference in being a spectator and playing the main role in your own life.

As published on LI:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-you-seize-opportunity-debbie-ruston?published=t_