A person who chases two rabbits catches neither.
Woah.
I follow Dale Partridge on Twitter, and he posted this thought provoking quote the other day. I haven’t been able to keep it off my mind. He posts so many good quotes and he has many blog posts on character development, relationships, life, love, and everything in between. I’ve come to especially respect his insights in 140 characters or less. You should check him out.
Going back to the quote, I thought it to be something that stopped me right in my tracks because of how true it was. In my own life, I’ve lived off the idea of taking advantage of every opportunity that is set before you. Every experience, good or bad, is experience that will make you better. Every person that comes in your life, who hurts you or blesses you, will help you in some unexpected way. Career opportunities were held under the same principle, that each offer to be considered would bring me one step closer to where I wanted to be in my life, whether or not that opportunity would make me happy or unhappy. So in essence, I’m going to take every opportunity set before me because good or bad, it’s still going to bring me closer to what I want, and it’s going to help develop me to be better.
But what happens when you have two good opportunities in front of you? I’m a bit selfish and a bit ambitious. I would take both. Let’s compare it to food, because I’m feeling a bit hungry right now. If I had a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie in front of me, everyone who knows me would know that I would take both. Too good to pass up.
But if you think about it, can you put your 100% focus on two separate paths? A person who chases two rabbits catches neither. It’s true. If I chase these two paths, I highly doubt that I can put 100% focus on both. At least, not for long. It neither does my cause any good nor will the people I work with benefit in any way if I become burned out a month into working.
So stay focused! Stay on one path and wholeheartedly believe that you are on the path you’re supposed to be. Be open to other opportunities, but never take on more than you can handle. Any doubt you have about where you are will disappear eventually, and one day, after working so hard you’ll realize that everything works out for those that work hard and with their whole heart.