Is This a Good Opportunity for Me? When to Say No to an Opportunity

You know the saying “Never pass on an opportunity because you’ll never know when another will come again…”

Well, that’s nice but the truth is if we continue to listen to this advice, we will just end up taking up, what I like to call, “pop-ortunities,” instead of real opportunities.

What’s a “POP-ortunity?”

Well… in The Ladies Coach’s Dictionary:

A “POP-ortunity” is an energy draining idea masked as an opportunity that, in most cases, should be popped immediately.” Let me start with a personal story before I get into my 5 reasons why you should say no to fake opportunities.

When I decided to quit my (what one would call) 9-5 job to pursue my passion of helping people (I wasn’t really clear of what that actually meant at that point) I was quickly asked by a friend to help with a charity he was creating that was just about to launch. It sounded like a great idea! I mean, charities mean helping people right? That’s right down my alley, so I quickly (without thought) said yes

Just as soon as I said yes, and after helping with the launch, I also quickly realized something very important… Even though it was a beautiful opportunity for someone else. It was just a “POP-ortunity” for me.

Why?

Because I started to become overwhelmed and unclear about how I was feeling. And although this charity really was helping people, it wasn’t in the way that fed my soul!

I also realized, I said “Yes” too quickly because let’s face it, I had just quit my job and have never gone without working so I thought, “if I say no, what if I miss a good opportunity?” I also wanted to make him proud because he was such a good friend and someone I respected so how could I have said no?

But the truth is, there is a time and place where real opportunities are presented and you won’t be able to see them if you are clouded with fake ones.

So here are 5 Times When to Say No to an Opportunity

 1. They have a tendency to OVERWHELM

Let’s be real, not all ideas are meant to become opportunities.  The difficulty with creative people, especially, is we tend to look for opportunities in everything that is no doubt a beautiful trait… but it’s also easy to feel overwhelmed, especially if this fake opportunity starts to take you away from your true purpose, truth, and real opportunities.

2. It doesn’t feed your soul!

You need to look at the real reasons you would be taking on this opportunity. Is it something that really ignites you? Does it truly make you excited? Or do you find yourself “trying” to make time for it?

You really need to look into what this “opportunity” is doing for you. If it starts to take you away from what is important and true for you… It may be a time to pop this “POP-ortunity” because gurrrlll it ain’t real!

3. Saying YES could be coming out of a place of FEAR

Instead of asking, “What if I don’t get another opportunity,” we need to ask, “Will I be able to truly put my passion, service and time into this?” When we make any decision out of fear, we ultimately suppress our true purpose. And let’s be real, it isn’t an opportunity if you take it out of fear!

Saying no to fake opportunities, ultimately means you are saying no to fear and fear-based decisions.

4. You are just PLEASING someone else’s opportunity

Maybe this is someone you love; close to; or truly respect, so they come at you with an idea that they want you to be a part of and you don’t want to let them down. So you give in which takes you away from the real opportunities that could be coming your way.

Remember what I said in #3? We need to say no to fear based decisions. Sure… they could be let down because, well they have their own dreams, but you have to stop, think and stay true to what your vision is.

5. It’s not the right time

Some opportunities might sound absolutely amazing for your soul but may not be good right now. You need to identify what’s most important. Would you be able to truly give OF yourself with excitement, fulfillment, time and service? If not, this is just another “POP-ortunity” because no real opportunity deserves to be half-assed!

You must be clear about what you want, and most importantly, who do you have to be in order to have that? If you stay true to what you want; how that will make you feel; and how much passion and energy you can really give to it; you will quickly weed out the “POP-ortunities” from the real opportunities.