While introducing me to a gathering of young
and aspiring managers, the speaker said: “He used the opportunities before him
so well in his life and that is the secret of his success. One needs to be an
‘opportunist’ like him”. The first sentence amused me and the second one
bewildered me. Knowing the ‘language proficiency’ of the speaker, I understood
what he really meant! But the word opportunist lingered in my mind during the
entire session and I pondered over it to comprehend how important it is for a
person to be an opportunist in this world to be successful.
The word opportunist has a very negative
connotation. The MS Word has a stock of synonyms: Freebooter, Speculator,
Buccaneer, Swashbuckler, Chancer, Carpetbagger, Fortune hunter etc. There is
only one positive meaning given there. That is ‘entrepreneur’.
An opportunist grabs an opportunity
aggressively. He is ready to snatch it from other potential competitors. In its
negative sense, the person uses all possible means, including unethical ways,
to get what he wanted. They become unpopular and their greediness will not have
any end.
But in its positive sense, an opportunist is a
person who is an opportunity user or 'utilizer'. This is a better term than opportunity
seeker. He is always alert to discover the ways and means that can take him
closer to his goals. For this purpose, he does not bypass someone deliberately.
He does not thwart someone’s effort to reach the same goal as his. He explores
the ways that can facilitate a quicker movement towards fulfilling his goals. He
looks around and finds that life has given diverse opportunities in a platter
for him to excel.
Our creator is just and there are enough ways
open before every human being irrespective his ascribed status or current circumstances
provided there is a will to pursue that. The strides in the pursuit of utilizing the
opportunities are small, simple and easily replicable. In this article let me
focus on one of the many stepping stones. That is the utilization of our time.
When we travel in a nonstop vehicle called
time, we encounter several opportunities on our way. It is our decision to take
the vehicle through the best or worst opportunities that determines our comfortable
early arrival at the chosen destination. The vehicle runs automatically in a
constant pace for everyone in the world whether he is a Prime Minister, fastest
sprinter, or a farmer in a remote village. But it is we who drive the vehicle
of time decide on its course.
I practice successfully for many years a
process called ‘time audit’ every night before going to sleep. The audit starts
with an exhaustive recall of the moments of that day and what I did in those
minutes. I evaluate how much of the available
time I was creative, how much of the time I was re-creative and how much of the
time I simply wasted. One could categorize them as creative, re-creative, and
destructive.
Examples of creative use of time could be a) helping
someone, b) applying creativity in work and producing something new, c) completion
of a long pending domestic work, d) setting in order the cluttered stuff in the
virtual and real realms, e) writing an article, f) reading a book, watching a
high quality program or a movie that motivates us to be creative, g) doing
physical exercise properly, h) going for a refreshing walk with your partner or
family etc. Even taking a short afternoon nap (some people call it power nap)
after many hours of creative work can also be a creative activity as that would
revitalize the body and mind. A creative person spends most part of his time on
similar activities as described above.
Examples of re-creative activity includes enjoying
entertainment programs created or presented by others, long activity sessions
in social networking sites and instant messengers, watching live or recorded matches
etc. These are not creative utilization of time unless we derive any skill,
knowledge or experience or gain a positive attitude from the above activities or
such activities soothe our mind and make us enthusiastic to do creative work. A
creative person spends less time on the above.
There are many examples of what we can call ‘destructive’
activity. (The word destructive is used here in comparison to the word creativity.)
The first and foremost one is the activity of listening or sharing gossips or negative
comments about someone else. Spending considerable time with toxic people-
those who are cynical, sarcastic, pessimistic and cunning would be destructive.
Lazy, lethargic and laidback attitudes and consequent behavioral patterns would
convert us to perennial deadbeats. Such type of people indulge in long sleep
(also extended hours of day nap), unnecessary and aimless wandering, repeated
indulgence (like watching the same movie or match again and again, continuous
parties without a break, attending events or functions that do not require the
presence etc.)
One should devise his or her own strategies to
spend more time for creative activity, less time on re-creative activity and
least time on ‘destructive’ activity. After every creative work, you will find
that your batteries are recharged faster and you enjoy more peace and
happiness. You will instantly carry a positive vibe and the confidence and
satisfaction you gain from a creative activity would result in better behaviour
with people around you. On the contrary, after spending too much time on a
re-creating or ‘destructive’ activity you will feel guilty and your behavior with
others become petty and less impressive.
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| Image: www.lifestylefancy.com |
We should try to utilize the time even when we
are on the move. I catch up with my reading and writing work while travelling
in a train or flight. If the official travel during the day is to a destination
that can be reached in less than six hours, I opt to travel by train rather
than flight. I always felt that I am more creative in a moving train as my
thoughts take a comfortable pace along with the train. Most of my articles are
the products of train journeys and long waits at the airport lounges (this
article is an example!). I avoid sleeping during the day time travel. I used to
see some people sleeping during the entire travel. What a waste of time! They
could pick up a few books, magazines or a reader device like kindle and read
rather than wasting time in sleep. Even watching a good movie in the laptop
during the train journey or spending time in prayer or meditation would be
better utilization of time during a day-time train journey rather than sleeping
all along.
Mobile phones are ubiquitous now and people can’t
live without it. People spend substantial amount of time on the smartphones.
One needs to evaluate how much of that time is used for unproductive purposes. Apart
from using the internet in smartphones just for messaging and social networking,
one could engage in creative reading, writing and planning even when we wait at
salon, restaurant, clinic or transport stations. But that should be done only
when we finish with enjoying the nature and surroundings and interacting with
people around us. We should not become an inanimate object wired to the smart
devices with scant regard to whatever happening around us.
More on
other stepping stones later!
© Sibichen K Mathew
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