What Waits Between For You?

"Opportunity waits between things ended and things begun."
- Kobi Yamada

Occasionally, I come across a quote that makes me think a little harder than the rest. Not to say the rest of the quotes don't have significant value or meaning, but often times it's easy for me to pick out the value in them. The quote above is one that had me thinking more intently than others, which makes for great thought and reflection. The dictionary defines "opportunity" as an appropriate or favorable time or occasion, so it makes sense that opportunity awaits between things ended and things begun. This brings up an interesting thought - if we're constantly going through life without stopping to reflect on where we're at, and we're not starting on the next adventure, how much opportunity may pass us by?

In our professional lives, many of us may just show up to work day after day and do the best we can at our job. In theory it would seem like that's the best way to create opportunities for ourselves, hoping those around us see the hard work we put in and "reward" us with a better opportunity in our careers. Although those "opportunities" may come up from time to time, without having a specific goal you're trying to achieve, when does your day-to-day hard work ever really end? And if there's never any end to it, was there really even a beginning? If not, how can opportunity happen if it's waiting between things ending and things beginning? It may get a little complicated looking at it that way, but the basic theory is don't just show up day after day and allow yourself to never really start or finish anything along the way.

Naturally, the same holds true in our personal lives. It's all to easy to let everyday things like work, chores, even an over-aggressive TV schedule keep us from ever starting OR finishing a thing! The outside world is constantly trying to consume us - our time, our money and anything else that can be sucked from us, so it's important to take hold of our lives and make sure we allow ourselves the ability to start on goals and aspirations, but also to allow ourselves time to reflect on our accomplishments (or failures), as it is here that opportunity awaits.

Slow down and control the pace of your own life. When it starts to get out of hand and you see yourself losing control, take a step back and regroup. Simply surviving day by day will not open up the doors of opportunity, and you'll find yourself just walking right on by.