First published 28 September 2023

What do you do when Opportunity Knocks?

Do you notice when Opportunity Knocks?

I’m wondering about some times recently where I think I missed the signs.

This morning at a network meeting and one of the speakers highlighted this with a great example and I have been pondering it since!

The speaker said there was “no such thing as a free lunch… or is there?”

She then held up a ten pound note and asked if anyone wanted lunch on her. 

Only one person put their hand up. 

Her point was (or at least this was my takeaway!) that we may see an opportunity and mistrust it, think it’s too good to be true or ponder ‘the worst that could happen’.  So how do we deal with this?

Doing what I do, I know that opportunities are everywhere.  It’s in new clients reaching out to me, new ideas in expanding my business and new things for me to read about and study.  Yet, as I mentioned above, I am still prone to hesitate.  

That hesitation may be caused by being uncomfortable – do I really want to stand up and say yes please?  Perhaps disbelief or even fear.

As with most things in life, first we have to be aware and open to seeing the opportunities.  Once we can see the opportunities then we have new challenges to overcome.

• is fear holding us back? If yes, acknowledge it, and be honest about it.  Maybe we are not ready for it yet, but by noticing, acknowledging and addressing that fear, then we can take hold of future opportunities.
• are we mistrusting our abilities?  Thinking we are not good enough can be common.  So, think about what you have accomplished so far in life.  Write a list of these accomplishments and if you are really struggling, ask someone who knows you well (and that you trust) to help write the list.  Remember, at one point you couldn’t walk or feed yourself, most things in life can be learned (or delegated 😉)
• is it outside our comfort zone?  While this can be scary or uncomfortable, we don’t grow and develop if we stay safe (back to the previous point – if we were too scared of falling over we would still be crawling… or lying on our backs!).  So, start small, and set realistic steps that gradually get bigger – and obviously – celebrate the wins.  (again with the learning to walk – we likely held on to someone or something just to stand up, and then we probably worked our way up to forward motion – but when we toddled across the floor we were most likely really chuffed with ourselves!)
• and it is the world of what if’s and catastrophising… paint the picture of the worst case scenario, and ask yourself “REALLY?”.  If that really is the worst case and you still feel it is a potential outcome, build a plan to recover from it.  Or, if it’s not really a likely result, walk it back to the next worst case option asking yourself really again.  You will finally settle on a more likely, realistic worst case scenario – again, plan what you would do if that happened.  And then get curious and ask yourself – “what’s the best that can happen?” – you will probably find that is a much more likely outcome if you work towards it.

When opportunity knocks, it’s important to take a deep breath, pause, and step outside of your comfort zone.

Don’t let fear, mistrust, or uncertainty stop you from pursuing your goals or any opportunities that come your way.

Remember, the worst that can happen is that you learn something new.

And even if you fail, you’ll still be learning – and you will be stronger and more resilient for it.