Opportunity is knocking, anyone home?

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The topic for Drop in the Ocean this week is opportunity, to find out more please head on over to @buddyup ;)

Opportunity

They say opportunity doesn't knock twice. But what if it did. In fact what if it knocked more than twice. What if it was a constant stream that was knocking. You would say that's crazy, cuz you would have surely opened the door to it.

The truth is, opportunity does knock all the time. And because I can only speak from experience, let me use my own.

If you haven't read any of my previous posts, just this one would give you a grand example of how opportunity kept knocking, and it still does.

But most of the time I'm too busy cowering under some table talking all sorts of self limiting bable about why I don't want to open the door. Regardless of whatever nonsense it is that I manage to conjure up with all that creativity put to bad use, the fact remains opportunity is knocking.

Like me most of us don't seem to be answering the door because we feel we're not ready, need more resources, or perhaps have had a bad experience and don't want to get hurt again.

Whatever the reason, it seems like we are giving opportunity the wrong signals as if we're not home. And so the knocking stops, .....at the front door, but it doesn't mean opportunity has gone away. Sometimes I find it lurking in the backyard, sometimes it waits till I'm out and about and tries to catch me by surprise. It seems that's the only way I will do it, cuz then I don't have time to come up with excuses.

The truth is, the reason I pretend not to be home is because it can be overwhelming, opening the door you don't know what comes through, and you don't always have control over it.

But if there's one thing I've learned over the years of being caught off guard, it is that the unknown is NOT as scary as it seems, and the unexpected, when we let go of the need to control has a way of just working out and working around the madness of life.

But yet! Oh I'm laughing at myself so hard now. Yet! I still cower. I still babble.

Courage

So it seems, though opportunity knocks what we require really is a little courage. Courage to step towards the door. Courage to first peep through the hole too see what's at the door. The courage to open and take a peek. And sometimes, the courage to invite it in for a leisurely cup of coffee, have a nice chat and entertain, before deciding if we would like this guest to stay, or say "Hey, I really like you, but let me get back to a few things in my life and maybe we can catch up again next week or next month".

To be honest, like most of my posts, I write this as a note to myself - like gentle reminders. It's as if I'm writing to that part of me that needs to hear this. Im sure we are all similar to a certain degree, a fearful mind mixed in with a little more courageous mind, and on occasion a wise mind. It really just depends on which one we choose to focus on. Which reminds me of this old Cherokee story ...

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Our fight may not be so much about good and evil, but the gist is the same when we change the virtues with ones that build us up, versus ones that keep us cacooned in some self made safe zone.

Confidence ...or is it something else?

Even after having the courage to open the door, there is then the question of following through. More than the power of organization and technical skills to deliver, I find myself really reaching out and grasping at the air for confidence, as if I could pluck it out of thin air. And like clutching at straws, it seems confidence to me, is this elusive thing that materialises just when you're at your wits end. I don't particularly like that feeling. As if I'm about to run out of air before just diving in. It feels more like I got pushed off the cliff.

So I've been working on this instead: compassion. The more I explore confidence, the more it seems to resemble compassion rather than some form of puffed chest, in control vision I had.

Confidence is really Compassion saying, hey let's just give it a go without too much expectations. Confidence is Compassion in saying, you may not be able to get all your ducks in a row, no one ever does - and sometimes we learn the ducks need to face another direction, so lets just get there with what you have and see how you can do better next time. Confidence is Compassion in being patient with taking one manageable step at a time.

Again this is advice for me, as I find myself overwhelmed with what if I can't do this or that. What if I promise and don't get enough support. What if I get too many orders. What if they don't like me. We have a part of us, which out of a deep need for self preservation, that conjures up the worst case scenarios to frighten us from failing. It makes for great quality control, but it doesn't help us get off our feet.

Often times, contingency plans are meant for the one time things go wrong. And unless it's an aeroplane or some dangerous or high stakes project, even mistakes are OK to a certain degree. It gives us an opportunity to improve. These are of course, not meant for acts of blatant disrespect or neglect. These steps, or tips are for times when we truly do our best, and even if we overlooked something like getting enough food or seats for a workshop or event, there will be ways to sort things out. It is never the end of the world.

The idea is to continue having a warm welcoming home to opportunities , creating healthy relationships , movement in and out, visits and long stays and even healthy boundaries with opportunity.

My personal mission/challenge will be putting this to action this month. ;) Let's see what happens from here.