Seize Life’s Opportunities and Maximize Your Potential
by Dr. D Ivan Young, ICF Master Certified Coach
The easiest path to a missed opportunity is not recognizing when a setback or rejection is temporary.
All of us have, at one point, held ourselves back.
Sometimes the cause is the fear of getting started or continuing after experiencing a “failure”. Other times, we know we can do it, but we wonder if we should. Often this is the result of putting others before ourselves, even if those others are undeserving.
I work with many individuals who have admirable goals, but no actionable plan.
If you’re an entrepreneur, or you have plans to be one, you must prepare yourself to experience countless setbacks.
You might only come up against two obstacles.
You also might face fifty.
Whatever the case you have to be prepared to push through anything. This is the time for you to be bold and ambitious. Your potential is limitless, and it’s time to start living the life you deserve.
“You’re so much stronger than you think!” Dr. D Ivan Young, MCC.
I help my clients determine their “why” and whether their goals align with their values. From there, I hold them accountable and support them as they take steps toward their purpose.
You might think you need more of this or less of that.
But, what you truly need is to know yourself and work on developing more of the skills that will help you become your best self.
First, you must be able to distinguish between actual failure and redirection.
How Do You Recognize if It’s Redirection or Rejection?
It’s difficult to recognize when you’re experiencing a valid rejection or failure and not a redirection or normal setback.
Here are a couple of ways you can differentiate between the two.
- How severe are the consequences of this recent event?
Did you make a minor mistake that will slightly delay your progress? Or is it a major blunder that has the potential to send your life completely off course?
You can come back from most mistakes and setbacks.
- Is your goal reasonable?
Countless people have defied insurmountable odds. And while I like to say anything is possible, some goals are outlandish, even delusional.
If your main goal is to become a billionaire, you’ll experience a lot of disappointment. While you could achieve it someday, there are a lot of smaller milestones you’d have to hit first.
Maybe your goal is to be a doctor. You must consider the investment that comes with a challenging career path.
It’s a demanding goal, but it’s a reasonable one to work toward.
Time and money are two primary considerations that accompany most goals. But I’m not saying you should count yourself out if you lack time or money. If you adopt that attitude of fear and doubt, your life can easily become one missed opportunity after another.
So while your visions for your life may be ambitious, most setbacks can be overcome. And most so-called failures can lead you to better things.
How Can You Avoid a Missed Opportunity?
A missed opportunity often results from believing that one or two setbacks equal a permanent rejection.
The desire to avoid rejection is natural. Like every other human being, you engage in certain behaviors to decrease the likelihood of rejection in your relationships, career, and everyday interactions.
The problem is you are your own harshest critic. We often make assumptions about how others feel about us and tend to underestimate our talents and skills. Most of us tend to assume we are less valued or valuable than we actually are¹.
So if you haven’t developed resilience, you’re likely to view small mistakes and obstacles as impassable.
Your ability to develop resilience can be influenced by several factors, such as the amount of control you have over a given situation². Even if you’ve gone through a traumatic experience, you can learn to be resilient.
A number of factors can contribute to strengthening your resilience, such as:
- Physical exercise: resilience is easier to develop when you engage in activities that improve your mood and self-esteem.
- Mindfulness: You’re more likely to think clearly if you’re able to get in touch with your emotions and gain awareness of your physical and mental state.
- Purpose: having a life purpose is unsurprisingly linked with greater happiness and higher resilience.
- Social support: It’s important to surround yourself with those who encourage you. Your closest friends should share similar values and have their own goals. Not everyone is meant to go with you to the next stage of your life.
There will always be a missed opportunity. You’re human and you won’t always make the best decision.
However, you can focus on building your resilience and try to recognize when you’re about to make the “safe” choice. And, you can learn to figure out what’s holding you back and face it head-on.
From an ICF Master Certified Coach: Don’t Let Missed Opportunities Rule Your Life
In the last year, I made investments outside of my normal scope of business. And it wasn’t easy.
I was frustrated and even depressed at times. But I’ll carry the lessons I learned into the next project. I found out who was really there for me and who wasn’t. I had to let some people go, but I became much closer with those who supported me and stayed.
All this to say, I’ve been through tough times. But I took a calculated risk and didn’t let the experience turn into a missed opportunity. You’ve been through tough times, too, but you have what it takes to change your future.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide whether to keep progressing or become stagnant. No matter how things look today, consider all the things you’ve overcome.
That’s proof you have the power to keep moving forward.
You don’t have to let your life be one big missed opportunity.
Watch my TedTalk, “The Power of Presence: The Laws of Attraction ‘Here and Now’”, if you’re ready to move forward and stop accepting redirection and temporary setbacks as rejection. Encountering adversity has the power to determine your future. Make sure it changes it for the better.
Bio – Dr. D Ivan Young is an expert on human behavior and relationships. He’s a Master Credentialed expert on personality type, an ICF credentialed Master Certified Coach, a Certified Professional Diversity Coach, and a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. Dr. Young is also a member of the prestigious Forbes Coaches Council.