What is a developmental opportunity?

The following is from a newsletter I receive called Resistance-Free Change newsletter and I thought it was interesting and could help you with the small steps one has to take to find, love and trust yourself again as we all look forward to a wonderful 2011

Developmental opportunities are a situation, relationship, condition that puts pressure on you to develop your:

 Skills - so you can take more powerful, courageous actions in the world

• Character - so you can more completely and authentically express your gifts
• Consciousness - so you can resolve obstacles in ways that promote greater personal integration and collective solidarity

 It's an experience that comes into your life unbidden (at least as far as your conscious mind is concerned). It pushes, challenges, and causes you to grow in ways that you never anticipated, and it is an experience that you do not usually like to be in, while you are learning from it.

It's a full court press that corners your soul and demands that you dig deep to bring forth untapped resources and unexpressed ways of being in the world and many times during this opportunity, you want to chuck in the towel, and give in. While it's happening, a developmental opportunity causes more gnashing of teeth and shedding of tears - than outpourings of gratitude. But, when you're through it - you'll see that it was happening for you, not to you

It's only when you're on the tail end of the process, when the learning's have been integrated, that you're able to appreciate and recognize the value you've gained.

My question is . . . why wait?
Why wait until the end of the process to appreciate it?
Why grit your teeth and struggle through, when you could, with a bit more clarity, move through the developmental process with greater ease?

You don't need positive thinking to accomplish this move. You simply need to change your perspective from seeing what is happening to you in order to see what is happening for you.

Complete this exercise:
Identify your developmental opportunity:

Complete these phrases:
This event is happening for me so that I can develop the courage to . . .

And develop the skills to . . .