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Sometimes the hardest opportunities to turn down are the good ones; Suzie Price shares a four question Opportunity Filter to help you decide what truly deserves your time, energy, and attention right now.
TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS
- 1. Being able to do something doesn't mean it belongs in your life. Capacity and calling are not the same thing. An opportunity can be good, flattering, profitable, or interesting and still not fit what matters most to you right now.
- 2. Every yes has a trade-off. Instead of asking only, "Can I fit this in?" ask, "What gets less of me if I say yes?" Time, attention, energy, relationships, health, strategic work, or simply breathing room always pay part of the price.
- 3. The goal isn't to say no more often. It's to choose well. The Opportunity Filter can lead to yes, no, not now, yes-but-differently, or "let me take another look." The goal is a conscious decision that fits the life you're actually living now.
KEY GUEST QUOTES
- "I can do this and I should do this are not the same thing."
- "Capacity is not the same thing as calling."
- "Being good at something doesn't mean you should build your life around it."
- "Energy is information."
- "Your history is data."
- "What gets less of me if I say yes?"
- "A good opportunity and the right opportunity are not always the same thing."
- "What you don't do determines what you can do." — Tim Ferriss
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Think of one real opportunity, request, project, role, commitment, or possibility in your life right now and ask:
- 1. ALIGNMENT: Does this fit what matters most to me right now?
- 2. ENERGY: What happens to my energy when I picture actually doing it?
- 3. TRADE-OFF: What gets less of me if I say yes?
- 4. SEASON: Does this fit the life I'm actually living now?
Then ask one final question: What do I already know?
Sometimes we keep collecting information because we don't like the answer we already have. Other times—as Charles's story demonstrates—we genuinely do need more information.
ABOUT THE GUESTS
Charles Schrauth - Charles shares a very different lesson. After disappointing experiences with programs serving adults with disabilities, his family initially said no to a new opportunity for their son—but trusted people encouraged them to look again. More information changed the decision, reminding us that discernment also requires flexibility.
Patricia "Pat" Burnett - Pat shares what happened when she found herself in what seemed like the perfect job—work she enjoyed, strong compensation, respect, and learning opportunities—yet realized something else mattered more. Her experience illustrates the Alignment question beautifully: sometimes nothing is wrong with an opportunity; something else is simply more right.
Tracy Winkler - Tracy shares how her love of learning can make a new course or program immediately appealing. Her insight—"history as data"—shows how looking honestly at our own patterns can help us distinguish the excitement of an opportunity from whether we will actually use it.
