We are faced with opportunities almost every hour. Some are opportunities to work hard and to make our dreams come true. We also have opportunities that feel good in the moment.  These may include coming home and watching television, ordering a not so healthy meal or buying something that we really can’t afford. We know that we should not perform these activities, but it just feels so good. No matter who you are, you are faced with these competing opportunities every day, every hour and almost every minute. To compound things, it’s often how hard you try or how much you enjoy yourself.  Even though you are working, are you giving a full amount of effort or are you seeing what you can get away with?  Are you eating a whole pie or a tiny cookie?

How you handle these opportunities leads to the life you have. If you want an amazing life, you must exploit the opportunities that will lead you to your dreams and minimize the negative opportunities that will hurt your chance of becoming amazing.  Note – not every negative opportunity will destroy your chances of becoming amazing.  The goal is not to be a robot, not having any fun and depriving yourself of any and all pleasure.  On the contrary, the goal is to be able to work on the projects that excite you and have more fun with more meaning.

One of the issues is that making negative choices feels good in the short run and making positive choices has a longer pay off. Watching television, eating junk food, going out with friends has an immediate payoff. However, going to the gym, reading a book, reflecting on your day, won’t have an immediate pay off.  In fact, the payoff for these actions maybe vague.  For example, reading a book may give you more knowledge, but you may be unsure of how it will help you in life.

There is a systematic approach to achieving any goal. The better you can execute on the process, the more likely you are to achieve your goals and dreams. The challenging part is that everything is interconnected. How much sleep you get, what media you consume, the way that you interact with your colleagues, how you deal with your own insecurities or other challenges and hundreds of little things all go into whether you live and amazing life or not.

Summary:

Each day, we are faced with multiple opportunities that can determine our success. Short term opportunities that have an instant result are okay, but they are not what leads to amazing success. It is important to spot opportunities that will have long term results and ultimately lead to the goals that you are trying to achieve.