Why not?: The power of saying "YES" to scary opportunities

I remember listening to a dear friend speak at a Bacardi Women in Leadership conference about her career as a female leader and the title of her speech was “WHY NOT?”.

She went on and on about opportunities that came into her life and she always asked herself this question, why not? So she embraced these opportunities with open arms and they took her to great success and fulfillment.

I remember being in AWE listening to her, thinking “Wow, this is a badass woman. I want to be more like her”. Her name was Paula.

Back then I was managing the Bacardi Women in Leadership mentoring program. I was the administrator and was in charge of matching the mentors with the mentees. We had asked mentees if they had anyone they would like as a mentor, and so many women had requested Paula as a mentor.

She had made an impact on so many women that day and she probably changed their lives without even knowing.

 So many of us let our limiting beliefs stop us from embracing new opportunities that at first seem scary. I had always been risk-averse, playing on the safe side, always having a solid plan B ready to go. I used to overanalyze and overthink everything.

I was always playing “what if” scenarios in my head and for the most part, they are what if worst case scenarios. This was rooted in my anxiety.

It took me many years of self-development work to get over impostor syndrome and increase my confidence & self-worth. I started asking myself “What if this could work? What if this is the right moment? What if this is really meant for me?”

I started trusting more, letting go of my need to control everything. I started saying Yes to new opportunities that seemed scary. For example, I was petrified of speaking in public but I started to look for opportunities to speak to an audience. Little by little the fear of public speaking turned into excitement.

Did you know that 98% of people live in their comfort zone? A comfort zone is familiar and the subconscious likes familiarity because it is safe. Magic happens outside of your comfort zone.

They call it the Growth Zone. Don’t be like 98% of the people, stand out and be like the 2% that are committed to their growth and development.

I challenge you to ask yourself WHY NOT, get out of your comfort zone, embrace new scary opportunities, and go chase your dreams. Life is too short and we only live once. So go live it to the fullest!

Namaste 🙏

Chio

image credit: Jeffrey Czum