“When one door is closed, don’t you know, another is open” – Bob Marley

 

I thought I would touch upon an idea that I feel has helped me evolve and grow more than anything else lately. This is the idea or concept that anything can be an opportunity. An opportunity for what you may ask? Simple, an opportunity to grow as a person faster than you could otherwise. Life is constantly throwing us into different situations and ‘curve balls’ at us so to speak whether they be positive or negative or nuetral. It’s how we react in the moment that matters most which will determine what we make of it.

We’ve talked a lot on this blog about how important it is to be in the moment, and for good reason! It sometimes sounds cliche even, but being present is really a huge key to recognizing things for what they really are when they are happening. Many times things don’t always go as planned and we find ourselves wishing we were elsewhere but where we are for example.  It can be really hard to not just react on auto-pilot, especially in a negative situation.

I find that re-framing what you would normally call a ‘problem’ or ‘challenge’ instead of as an opportunity can help you really take in the reigns of a particular situation you find yourself in and control your emotional state. Controlling your emotions can be easier said than done but is truly the holy grail when it comes to being able to stay calm in the eye of the storm. Allow emotions to wash through you, but don’t get caught up in any one in particular. Seeing the opportunity can help us do just that. 

But it’s not just about flipping negative situations and scenarios on their head into opportunities to grow and learn from. Everything can be an opportunity for growth. Sometimes we are just used to acting a certain way all the time out of habit or not taking action at all when we can. Sometimes opportunity can be staring us right in the face and we don’t even notice it or we do but don’t do anything out of fear. If looked at simply as an opportunity to grow and not as something to necessarily get or gain we just might go for it. In this way, failure or rejection don’t hold the meaning they normally do and are no longer relevant.

You end up doing things and acting for the sake of pure experience. There is nothing to get, nothing to gain but you always grow.  Also if you are acting with the intention to give instead, you can take this idea to the next level and you can’t go wrong because you are helping people for the sake of helping people. Truly a win win as they say.

Sometimes we tend to dwell on the past and over-analyze things, situations, relationships etc. I know I have a tendency to do this more often than I’d like to admit. Taken as an opportunity to grow and learn from, it’s never time wasted as some people are led to believe. I can see why the universe put me in that place, scenario or why I met someone for example.

As the Dalai Lama has said, ‘remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.’  Not everything is what it always seems, and in this case we have the power to change any situation we find ourselves in to be one of self-empowerment and growth. It’s just boils down to our perception of it.