Opportunity
The oxford dictionary describes opportunity as ‘a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something’. You may be wondering why I chose oxford for this definition but i promise it has nothing to do with what am about to write here.
Life is mysterious one day you may be dreaming of driving a classic car but the next day you’ll be crawling on you knees. Another time you are feeling so excited about life but then boom! its sadness.
Each person is an enigma. You’re a puzzle not only to yourself but also to everyone else, and the great mystery of our time is how we penetrate this puzzle. — Theodore Zeldin.
It is this mystery that makes life unpredictable. Actually if one could predict the future 100%, I believe he would be the richest man alive, reason being he will know when, where and how to invest in the current market. If its betting that would be a walk over if its charity sweepstakes or bingo he will know which numbers to place, if its just pure consultation then everyone will rush and give him money just because they want to know what their future holds. What has opportunity got to do with this? Its simple the same way you can’t predict the future is the same way you cant predict when opportunity is gonna strike.
Someone would argue that its driven by circumstance which is true but again what is circumstance? Circumstance is a condition connected with an event or action. If you consider the words ‘event’ and ‘condition’ it simply means something has to happen that requires your choice. In life we are faced with many circumstances, actually everyone is a victim of circumstances they have accepted.
“Circumstances don’t come to distract you from the spirit of gratitude; negative interpretations of them do.”
― Edmond Mbiaka
Think of being late for a job interview due to a traffic jam then later lose the job. How do you handle such a situation. Many people freak out at such scenarios but they still do exist, this is life.
I believe being optimistic in life always will keep you going. In reality you didn't have the job but you had a chance of getting one but due to circumstances that you couldn't prevent you lost the job. I believe if life throws lemons at you make lemonade with them. Now this is where Opportunity comes in. You get another chance to try something else, apply another job, add another skill or even start a company. What matters is you don’t stop you keep moving despite the circumstance.
Real opportunities are like the sales people that knock on our door, or call us while we eat dinner at night. We don’t want to open the door because we are irritated, we think we know how it is going to pan out, or we are too scared to say ‘no’ when they ask us a question. Real opportunities are the ones that we don’t immediately see. They come by at the most unexpected, mostly inopportune, times. We are so obsessed with other distractions or our own opinions that we normally miss the majority of opportunity that falls across our path.
“The great beauty of life is its mystery, the inability to know what course our life will take, and diligently work to transmute into our final form based upon a lifetime of constant discovery and enterprising effort. Accepting the unknown and unknowable eliminates regret.”
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
Your present circumstances may seem limited, but you are never limited by your present circumstances. Everything starts within us and must end within us too. Remember if you can dream it you can achieve it