Making the Most of Every Opportunity

Opportunity. I love that word. It screams optimism and hope. At this time of year, it is my favorite word. There are very few times of the year quite like a brand spanking new year. The months ahead are a wide-open canvas of options and opportunity. It seems that there is nothing that can’t be accomplished given the time and the optimism a clean slate and a new year brings.

I remember as a kid how I loved a new year. I would look forward to faithfully writing in that brand new, unblemished diary I got for Christmas. You know the one. Complete with a golden lock and key! Each year, I would write musings of my little life faithfully for approximately 11 days. Then I would get distracted until about April 23^rd  when I would remember my goal to write in my diary every day that year. Nonetheless, it didn’t diminish my enthusiasm for a fresh start the next January 1^st.

Not much has changed since I was a little sprout. I still feel the excitement of what is ahead in 2018.

When I think of opportunities that lie ahead this year, I am reminded of a verse in Ephesians 5:15-16

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.

I am energized by that verse because I love a big challenge and there is not much more challenging than trying to live in wisdom and grabbing up all the opportunities that lay before me.

But how can I best accomplish such a huge task? What can I do to take every opportunity in 2018 and wisely make the most of them so that I can look back in a year and have no regrets? Here are a few thoughts.

Pay attention.

Yes, I know that sounds a little teacher-y, but the first step in making the most of your opportunities is to see them when they show up. I’m afraid we have let the fast pace of life overshadow our ability to notice important things. We have to open our eyes and actually see the opportunities that lay before us. Some will be obvious. Others will be just under the radar. I don’t know about you, but where I come from, opportunities are abundant, not scarce.

Pick an opportunity focus.

You may have heard of the One Word movement in recent years. The premise behind this idea is that instead of focusing on a list of goals or resolutions in the new year, choose a simple word that you focus on. It will influence your decisions, which will help you achieve what you want in your life during that year. The same can be said for making the most of opportunities. Opportunity is everywhere and comes in many forms. We make the most of opportunities without even knowing it. So what if we choose one area on which to focus our hunt for opportunity? What about if I focus my opportunity search on serving others? Do you think I would notice more chances to serve during my everyday tasks? Or what if I focused my opportunity search on learning? Opportunities to learn something new would show up often, and I bet I would take advantage of them. Or how about focusing on encouragement? Do you know how many people I might walk by in a day that need a word of encouragement? If that is my focus, it would be easy to make the most of each of those opportunities.

Write it down.

Opportunities fly by us every day. Some we see and follow through on and some we miss. But as we hyper-focus on making the most of opportunities in the new year, let’s write down what we see and do. Each evening, take a minute to write down a quick bullet list of opportunities that you noticed and made the most of in your day. I think you might be surprised at what you find. Who knows? You may even see how taking advantage of simple opportunities given to you each day will help you reach goals you may not have even known were possible.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.

I think by the end of 2018, we will be able to say that we are a bit wiser.

What area of opportunity will you focus on in 2018?

 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, remembering that as members of the same body you are called to live in harmony, and never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you.

Colossians 3:15