Opportunity Archives - Page 3 of 13

October 14, 2023October 4, 2023 by Pete Wiley

Your Niche—How Your Strengths Fit into Your Life

What are your strengths? One would think that people know what they’re good at, but as you figure this out, you may hit many bumps and curves along the way. You may also go through periods where you feel you haven’t discerned your strengths and may never figure it out. Somehow, college kids are expected to know what they want to do with their lives as they choose their major at 19! Most of us will try a few things until we find one we like and are good at. But we may continue to have lingering doubts about our choices. Is this my calling—what I want to devote my life to? We may feel like our life is “fine,” but we must keep looking. We have to find our niche.

September 2, 2023August 10, 2023 by Pete Wiley

Big Impacts of Little Things—Getting a Handle On the Everyday

The stresses of daily life can feel overwhelming. Over time, the impact of everyday problems can accumulate and feel unsurmountable. Everyday stress is not about any single, intense, or life-changing event—instead, it’s about the daily headaches, hassles, and dramas. The effect can be hard to pin down. You start feeling tired, irritable, and anxious. You may feel like talking it out with someone, but you don’t quite know what’s going on. The impact can become overwhelming, and eventually, you may feel like it’s all too much and you’re dealing with it alone.

July 22, 2023April 20, 2023 by Pete Wiley

Mindful Existence—Learning How to Live in a World Full of Distractions

In the modern world, we have amazing technology that would have seemed like magic centuries ago, and like science fiction only decades ago. We’re connected with other people around the globe in an instant and think nothing of it. This past week, I was on video meetings with people from Hawai’i, New Caledonia, and Alaska and across the continental US, and it didn’t even warrant a passing mention. We also have literally every movie or TV show ever made available at any time. And if all of that doesn’t satiate our desire for distraction, we have a near infinite stream of opinions, status updates, shares, clips, and fails available from multiple social media sources, all the time. For people born in this era, it’s very easy to never have a time when our brains aren’t occupied by external stimuli, and as a result, to never learn how to live without distraction.

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June 24, 2023April 14, 2023 by Pete Wiley

Up for It—Saying Yes to Life

Sure! Let’s go!

The people I enjoy being with the most have a sense of adventure about them. They are up for anything. It’s not only a willingness to explore the unknown and engage in new experiences—it’s also an overwhelming sense of optimism and enthusiasm. They’re an inspiration to me, but they’re also just fun to hang around with. They look at the bright side of whatever happens and don’t treat barriers or challenges as problems. They also have courage—courage to explore the unknown and to take risks—courage in the face of doubt. All of us have a range of opportunities every day—opportunities to try new things or to get to know new people—and some of these opportunities will involve risks. A sense of adventure doesn’t mean saying yes to every opportunity that arises or totally ignoring risks and responsibilities. It does mean being open to opportunities and open to the possibilities they present. It means saying yes to life.

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June 10, 2023April 14, 2023 by Pete Wiley

Knowing People—Incorporating Empathy into Our Interactions

How much time do you spend getting to know people? Not just what they did over the weekend and how their kids are doing, but really trying to get a feel for who they truly are and what drives them. Most interactions take place on a very surface level. We engage in small talk or interact on the basis of what we’re intending to accomplish, and the rest is often just minimal politeness. There’s nothing wrong with a pleasant passing of the time, but if we become closer with people, we might have deeper conversations and get to know them better. We can learn to guide our interactions based on that knowledge and those insights. However, unless we make a consistent effort to get to know people andincorporate that knowledge into our interactions with them, we aren’t taking advantage of opportunities for much more meaningful and rewarding relationships.

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