Opportunity: A favourable juncture of circumstance

“Opportunity is missed by many people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” - Mark Twain

This quote truly strikes a chord with me and resonates every string that you would find on a life coach’s instrument.

Many of us wish for opportunity, we talk about how “if we had” the opportunity, or “when we get” the opportunity, we will do or be something great. Even more so, we look forward to the new year ahead of us to bring us more opportunity, prosperity, etc etc.

This way of thinking suggests that there is a belief that opportunity is not created, and rather, that it is given to us, by luck, or chance, or perhaps if we check off all the right boxes. Whatever it is, this way of thinking means that we are living at effect to our external environment and the circumstances that come with it.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Opportunity as: a favorable juncture of circumstance

I like this definition of opportunity. Since our life is constantly filled with circumstances, and since circumstances are mostly out of our control, then the only way we can create opportunity is by having favourable junctures.

So, how do we create favourable junctures?

I like to think of junctures as the constant choices we have to make every moment of every day. Therefore, the way to make favourable junctures is by making choices that support the opportunity we are looking for. The more we do this, the more favourable our junctures will be - and, believe it or not, the more supporting our circumstances will be as well!

Every moment we live, opportunity presents itself as a choice. We can choose to create opportunity or we can choose to let it go. The only way to make something out of an opportunity is to choose to take action. Without action, and in the context of Mark Twain’s quote, without work, opportunity does not materialize into anything other than a moment where you had the choice to create what you wanted - another juncture.

What juncture are you at in your life? What choice will you make at this juncture? What opportunity will you choose to create?