Have you ever wondered why it is that some people seem to have a lot of opportunities thrown at them and other people seem to have only a few?

Recognizing opportunities and options is matter of perception and an exercise in creativity. But without a developed sense of creativity, the only options a person is likely to see are those they have been directly presented with. And some people have trouble seeing those.
Creativity allows us to see more options in our lives. Instead of peering through a keyhole, it opens the door wide, giving us a view of the entire room.

We’ve written before about Bumps in the Road. A creative person is open to seeing the possibilities and the opportunity within an obstacle. They look at it as a challenge. Someone for whom creativity itself is a challenge will most likely see an impediment or problem that must be overcome.

Which would you rather be?
Excited about the possibilities and opportunities inherent in each bump in your path?
or
Depressed because all you see is the the obstacle?

Options, opportunities and possibilities come in all sizes. Some require a large exercise of creativity to see; others require just a small one. They may be simple tweaks to something (an item or process) that already exists, or they may be a completely new idea. Maybe your opportunity begins with something as simple as making a process easier or more efficient for yourself. Maybe the possibility extends to help others.

I’d bet that almost everyone, at some time, has looked at a process or an item and thought of at least one way it could be improved or changed. So we’ve exercised our creativity in this way before. But what’s come of it? All too often, we have the idea and then let it go, letting the possibilities slip through our fingers. It might be because implementing the idea seems out of our capabilities, or because we think we’d be the only person interested in it.

It may take an additional exercise of our creativity to figure out how to put our idea into play. So what if you’re the only person who uses it, if it works for you? So maybe you have to build the prototype out of popsicle sticks and glue. . . You never know what opportunities or options it may open up for you in the long run. You can be certain that they won’t appear for you if you don’t do anything with your idea.

So get out there and exercise your creativity - look for and create your own opportunities and possibilities.