You Have Beaten Yourself Down Enough; It’s Time You Start Believing In Yourself

September 13, 2017 – You Have Beaten Yourself Down Enough; It’s Time You Start Believing In Yourself

By Lanre Amodu

One of the greatest burdens we bear in life is that of lost opportunities. Scattered here and there in our lives are several “If only” stories.

It is not uncommon for our hearts to be filled with questions of why we didn’t see an opportunity coming or why we missed an appropriate timing. We wonder why we were so stupid to miss what someone else saw.

As if that isn’t bad enough, we remind ourselves of the proverb that says “opportunity knocks but once” and another that says “opportunity lost can never be regained”. Doesn’t that just nail the coffin? Here, I intent to show you that though you may never regain a specific lost opportunity, the story doesn’t end there.

Several financial, leadership and personal development coaches have taught us about the power of recognition. It is essential to identify opportunities for what they are and take advantage of them. Missing an opportunity can change the direction of our lives. We can never have the same opportunity twice for the following reasons:

Different Time: opportunities are attached to time. When we miss an opportunity, we have to wait for another time. Even if a similar opportunity comes along, it doesn’t meet us at the same place, time or age we missed the first one.

Different Circumstances: it is a popular saying that the most constant thing in life is change. Hence, when we miss an opportunity, we also miss the circumstances that created it. For instance, we may miss an opportunity to share our novel ideas with an investor who is new to the concept but by the time we get a second chance, ours idea have become common.

Different People: just like every other thing, people also change. One person may be replaced by another or the same person may develop a different attitude. So, when we miss an opportunity, we may also miss the quality of people we need to fully enjoy it.

So what do all these mean? Since all of us have missed one opportunity or the other, should we resign to our miserable fate? Never! Life is full of opportunities. We may not regain the same opportunity we missed but who says a better one is not on its way? We can learn from our past and become wiser for the future. We must stop searching for the taillight of lost opportunities and start looking for the headlight of new ones. When we focus too much on lost opportunities, we convince ourselves that we don’t deserve new ones.

We weep over what is lost and the tears blind us from seeing what we can learn. With every minute we spend bemoaning lost opportunities, several others are joining the list.

Get up, look up and grab that opportunity. If none comes soon enough, who says we can’t create it for yourselves? After all, someone created the opportunity we are weeping over! You have beaten yourself down enough; it’s time you start believing in yourself.

I look forward to reading your stories of great successes. Share your views by visiting olanreamodu.com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu.