Missed Opportunities

I initially had something else in mind for my second blog but as life has it, this topic came to my mind and I just had to write about it…

My second blog post has also taken longer than expected for me to write because I wanted to give my best to ensure that I cover all angles.

In many of our lives we have wanted to do something but have missed opportunities due to the fear of the unknown, fear of what others will say, procrastination and laziness.

Due to these reasons, many of us have also concluded that it is no longer possible in our lifetimes to gain these opportunities again or achieve some of our goals; and we have failed.

I can put my hand up and share the fact that I am a victim of this very self-inflicted limitation. I have omitted on going for opportunities due to the fact that I allowed fear to guide me rather than my faith. I allowed my confidence to be clouded by my judgement that it was either impossible for me to be able to successfully gain an opportunity; or it was impossible for me to to be successful at the opportunity in itself.

Growing up (not to brag) but I was quite a bright student. I had a good brain on my shoulders, my teachers described me as intelligent and I was determined to excel no matter what. Along the way, as many of us do in our youth, I was distracted with other things, beauty, boys, being popular and everything else under the sun. When it came to me choosing a course to study at university, I almost allowed fear to get the best of me and almost did not study for my law degree. Having Nigerian parents (not to be stereotypical) I ended up going for my law degree; but today although I am successful and I have a masters degree, I have not gone to law school.

This does not make me feel unhappy or depressed but deep down I am aware that the main reason why I did not want go to law school at the time was more to do with fear then my willingness to study at masters level. 

Why do I tell you this? I tell you this because as individuals we have missed opportunities right from our youth till this very day. Some we may look back on and thank God that we did not go for but there are some that we within ourselves know that we could have and should have gone for- but we allowed other factors, including fear to guide us.

This blog post is not about looking back in regret but about being conscious of the fact that we do this. It is about bringing awareness to our present moment and the fact that we sometimes question our own ability to succeed because we ruminate on things that have not happened and tell ourselves that we will not make it. We worry about what others will think and say about us, we dwell on past failures, think low of ourselves and we allow the devil to deter us from our hearts desires.

As a Christian, in Jeremiah 29:11 the Lord says “For I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and give you a future filled with hope.” Joshua 1:9 also says “Do not be afraid, for your Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” These scriptures are not merely words but they carry something that we cannot comprehend which is light and power.

You may not be a Christian but one thing I know is that God is not a God of fear. When I say this, I talk to myself too. The devil works overtime to deter us from opportunities and we need to learn to overcome our fears. Whats really the worst that can happen? We fail? Okay… then we get up and we keep going. When I was going to start this blog I had all kinds of fears… Who would read it? How would I manage my time to write blogs? Would anyone support me? One of my friends then told me that I should “just enjoy it.” Key words but so simple.

We do our part and God will do His. What is for us will never pass us by, by God’s grace.

Key points:

• Have faith that God will do it; Matthew 19:26
• Don’t worry if you feel that no one supports you. Just go for it! Do not hesitate
• Determination is a Major Key
• Resilience- if things don’t work out the way that you plan, don’t be too hard on yourself

Come on guys lets start achieving! We can do this. I am rooting for you all 🙂

I would LOVE to hear from you guys… please feel free give your feedback on this blog post, comment and subscribe. Lets start achieving together and overcoming our fears!!! 

With love,

ANJ TALKS ♡

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