Everyday a new opportunity may present itself to you, and your mission is to capitalise on that opportunity. Many of the greatest success stories today are based on an opportunity presenting itself to someone at the right time, and them having the right skills, knowledge, or freedom to pursue the opportunity. My favorite definition of luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Throughout your life, you may get lucky once, a few times, or never. It is up to you to tip the balance in your favour.
When I think back, whilst we were all locked down during the worst of COVID when the entire world entered a new era which would change our future forever, in that moment the whole world lived through a deadly pandemic which disrupted the whole world and claimed the lives of many across the globe.
It wasn’t until years later that I now realise that I was given an opportunity for change which I did not take. Going into lockdown I was furloughed which I accepted, but I eventually lost my job as the company I worked for at the time essentially ran out of cash and had to make cuts to survive. I sort of accepted my new found freedom, but when I look back I wasted my entire lock down. At the time people around the world were trying new things, getting fitter, taking up new hobbies, learning something new, or generally enjoying their life. I was to an extent, but I was high as a kite for most of it engrossed in a daily ritual of waking up, going for our government mandated walk, playing video games or watching TV, cleaning up (sometimes), and eating dinner (My girlfriend at the time lived with me through lockdown.) But as time progressed through lockdown, the construction industry didn’t stop in the UK. I tried in vain to get a job but at the time I was not senior enough, and had multiple interviews with no luck. Accepting my fate, my days started to blur into the routine of video games, weed, food, and sleep. I did some gardening but I never really followed through with it, my laziness and my addictions were more important at the time – I did grow a lot of veg which was great but I barely utilised the garden to it’s full extent. As my days blurred into one as I ran endless maps in Path of Exile pretending I knew what the hell I was doing, it all became about video gaming and weed. I stopped showering, played video games, ate food and consumed media.
The worst part? I had two bookshelves filled with books I never read, DIY to be done, and I had all the free time in the world to pursue new and meaningful things. In my journey of self development, if I had the same opportunity that I have now I would have done so many things differently to help improve my life and lead to positive changes in my being. But that was the past, you cannot forever dwell on what could have been, and what you did. All you can do is to learn from the past, implement the changes in the now, and plan for a better future. The next time an opportunity comes knocking, the least you can do is take the opportunity.
See you next time
Faz