O is for Opportunity
O is the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet. O has a nice sound to it, and it is one of the most positive letters in the alphabet. O is also the Chemical symbol for Oxygen that is literally the most important element for life on this earth. It also stands for some other Outstanding words like Optimism, Opulence, Openness and Original. Well, I could go on because Orange is not only my favourite colour but also my favourite fruit. Is that Okay?
But the word that I find most appealing is Opportunity. The dictionary meaning of Opportunity is “a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something”. Now, doesn’t that make this word a world of possibilities?
Someone who can find an opportunity in every situation or occasion, is usually a very happy or successful person. It is not easy, and it takes a lot of deliberate effort to do so. Most of us wait for an opportunity to come up, when all the variables in a given situation are favorable to us. But how often does that happen in real life? Everything is never perfectly aligned. Real smartness lies in finding an opportunity where it is not obvious. As Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Some people are able to spot an opportunity in every change in the environment. Every recession, every pandemic, every war that appears to be devastating for the world at large, becomes an opportunity for them. I don’t want it to sound like an opportunity for exploitation, and being opportunist actually has an unethical and negative connotation. What I am referring to is that every situation that appears negative has a positive side to it, which presents an opportunity for progress, for doing good work, for doing philanthropy, for creating something new and starting a fresh journey.
Opportunity is also perhaps the most important quadrant of a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat — for the uninitiated. It is commonly used in business parlance to evaluate a condition and one’s chances of success in it.
Needless to say, while negative situations are opportunities for some, and take a lot more effort to be viewed positively by others, a positive situation or technological advancement brings in more obvious opportunities for us.
The current pandemic, forced by an invisible enemy, appeared to be a life threatening crisis to begin with. It is causing humongous damage to human life and economic activity. It has also been a life changing turning point for daily wagers and small businesses, besides many others. But it also presented an opportunity to revive our environment, create more familial and social bonding, learn new skills and build new habits. For many businesses, who were able to reinvent or refocus their efforts, it also proved to be a watershed moment. Manufacturers of protective equipment, ventilators, masks, work from home technologies, digital entertainment and other services, have seen their business grow multi-fold at the expense of other sectors like hospitality, restaurants, travel, tourism, automobile, transportation services, retail stores, etc. From the latter group, those who were able to quickly rethink and reposition themselves and saw this as an opportunity, have come out with fewer injuries than those who could not.
Even the emotion of fear and danger is seen as an opportunity by some. Fear is just an emotion, that is made up of irrational worries and thoughts. The sooner one learns to identify and manage these thoughts, the sooner one can enjoy things that are actually worth one’s time. A situation that brings in the emotion of fear is often a disguised opportunity for victory and growth. Those who can look beyond the insecurity and uncertainty of such a situation, and use it to reposition themselves, often emerge stronger and more successful. The stock markets are a great example of this, where these emotions move like a roller coaster over medium to long term cycles.
Many of us look at these successful people as lucky people. More often than not, these lucky people know that opportunity is always present. They look for ideas and trends that match their interests and strengths. Sometimes they bend and twist those ideas to make them uniquely theirs.
One of my favorite quotes, attributed to Roman philosopher Seneca, is Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
Well, it requires a great deal of personal grit and emotional maturity to look at every situation as an opportunity. But if we are able to train our minds to do this, we can not only be more successful in whatever we choose to do, but also happier in all circumstances. Develop a habit of looking at everything to see how you might improve it — how you’ll make it more fun, faster, cooler, friendlier, easier, quieter, more musical, lighter, more romantic, more exciting, more inviting, more anything. Choose the opportunities that benefit other people and they will support your offer to take advantage of an opportunity.
Let me know what you think. I will be happy to hear your thoughts and exchange ideas.
