The right mindset can make you see opportunities out of adversities
In the world of limited resources, we tend to assume that like resources all of us have limited opportunities as well. Whenever we think of pursuing something, we usually think of the obstacles that may come in our way instead of looking at the opportunities that could prove to be the game-changer for us. Opportunity is a word, the meaning of which is often misunderstood. If viewed from the perspective of an average person, opportunity is interpreted as a means of getting something that you want.
But what if we say, “Opportunity in not about getting something rather it is about giving something.” If you’ll look at the entrepreneurs or any other professionals who are successful at their businesses, you’ll find one common trait in them and that is “Unique Mentality”. They look for the ideas and view ideas as an opportunity to put something out there to benefit others. They look for new avenues to provide services and see problems as an opportunity to learn and grow for the betterment.
We all are surrounded by remarkable opportunities. However, most of us find it harder to see them. There are millions of people who miss golden opportunities every day. The biggest problem lies with our perspective. Many of us focus on the opportunities that other have instead of pondering on the opportunities that are around us. Our mindset is the biggest barrier that stops us from achieving the heights of success.
We all are confronted with numerous obstacles in life. These obstacles can be physical, mental or emotional in nature. As human, we try to escape from these obstacles in order to avoid confronting it. But have you ever thought what if these obstacles can provide us with the opportunities to move forward. Adopting a mindset to see problems as a source of opportunities rather than burdensome would make you feel less stressed as you’ll start contextualizing the problem in the positive manner. This will make you understand it easier and encourages you to grow and adapt on continuous basis. Doing this makes you to handle future problems easily, thus forming a positive cycle of reinforcement.
However, it is easier to say to adopt such mentality. You have to train your brain to see good in everything and to evaluate what is in your control and what is not in your control. This is a consistent effort and it will show results when practiced over an extended period of time.
How to look for opportunities?
To look for opportunities around us, we need to change our mindset. We need to have a strategy which is a realistic roadmap to move forward by taking advantage of the opportunities that comes our way. Here are three ways that can make us see opportunities around us even in the time of adversities.
- Accepting that problems are inevitable
We usually react negatively when we are confronted with a problem. The intensity may vary at times but what we need to do is to learn to handle it with grace and objective understanding. Ryan Holiday in his book, “Obstacles is the way” states that perception is the most important per-requisite to look around opportunities. It is important to understand the events around us and how we judge and interpret them. Having an objective approach allows us to control our negative emotions. As the famous stoic saying is “We all suffer more in our minds than in reality.” Whenever we encounter negative events in our life, we as human being have a tendency to become anguished and scared. Stoics say, “Either we can let these adverse events control us or we can detach ourselves from these events and view them more objectively.” The line by Ryan Holiday makes it more understandable, “The perceiving eyes see more than is there and an observing eye sees only what is there.” So accepting that problems are inevitable is important to look for opportunities through the adversities.
- Focusing on the process and improvements
Action speaks louder than words. We all have heard this saying. Most of the successful people are the ones who decided to pursue an idea and acted upon it. Many of us fail to take that first step because we are afraid of failure. Our most of the anxiety and frustrations stems out of the fact that we are too much focused on the outcomes instead of the process. Learn to live in the moment. Persistence and consistency is the key. Never be afraid of the failure. We need to focus more on the process. Don’t focus that you have to win. Focus on what you need to do, practice and acquire in order to reach your goal. Take one day at a time. Think what you can do today, what tasks you’re having at hand.
3. Practicing the discipline of heart and mind
Will is the factor that if mastered, it results in the discipline of heart and mind. Will is about inner fortitude and wisdom. It gives us the strength to contextualize events, endure hardships and derive meaning. Practicing what is in your control and what is not in your control. Reflect on your present condition. See what you have at the moment. Napoleon Hill rightly said that we should not go searching for opportunity but reaching out and embracing it right where we are.
It is all the game of mindset. We need to train ourselves to see the brighter side of life. Stay optimistic. As stoics say, “every adversity leads to an untapped opportunity.”
So, to take a quote from a book, “Embrace the mystery”