There is a quiet but stubborn law of nature that plays out in classrooms, workplaces, families, and even in politics: opportunities do not wait for the undecided. They hover, they tap lightly, they present themselves once—sometimes twice—then shift to the person closest to you who is prepared to act boldly. As a friend recently posted, “When opportunities come and you start bargaining with them, they knock right to the person you least expect. Don’t bargain with opportunities.” It is simple, almost casual wisdom, but profoundly true.
Human beings have an instinct to hesitate. When a chance for growth, advancement or change comes, our first reaction is often to think of the risks. What if I fail? What if I’m not ready? What if people judge me? We bargain with the opportunity, negotiating with it as though it is obligated to return tomorrow or next year. Yet life has no such patience. Opportunity arrives as a guest, not a tenant. It stays briefly, and only with those who open the door without delay.
This pattern is evident everywhere. In schools, a student who hesitates to join a club, take a leadership role or pursue a talent often watches as a classmate—sometimes a close friend—steps up and excels. In the workplace, employees who delay applying for internal promotions because they feel “not yet ready” later discover the role has been taken by someone with equal or even less experience, but with more courage. In business, countless people have lost life-changing chances because they hesitated to invest, collaborate, or innovate. And in society, communities lose development opportunities when leaders drag their feet or argue instead of acting decisively.
Opportunity is not loyal to a person; it is loyal to readiness.
Part of the reason we bargain with opportunities is fear. Fear disguises itself as logic. It makes us overanalyze, overthink, and create imaginary obstacles. We tell ourselves we need more time, more skills, more money, or more confidence. But the truth is that no one ever feels completely ready. The readiness comes after action, not before it. Those who succeed are not the ones without fear – they are the ones who move despite the fear.
Another reason for hesitation is the cultural tendency to prefer safety over risk. Many people have been raised to choose security, to wait for the “right moment,” or to avoid standing out. But in reality, the right moment rarely announces itself. It often comes disguised in small, ordinary beginnings – a conversation, a chance meeting, a project, a vacancy, a new policy, a simple invitation. Those who embrace these “small doors” often find themselves walking into big rooms of possibility.
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The law of nature that opportunities obey is very similar to the law of energy: they flow toward momentum. If one person hesitates, the opportunity shifts to the next nearest person who is moving, thinking, or acting in alignment with it. This is why we often get shocked when a close colleague or friend suddenly rises, progresses or achieves what we once desired. It is not that they were better – it is that they responded faster.
And this is where pain enters. The saddest form of regret is seeing someone close to you living the life you only dreamed of because you hesitated. It is watching your juniors take up vacancies you ignored, your neighbours seize developments you doubted, or your peers travel, grow and expand while you analysed risks until the chance disappeared. Opportunity does not punish; it simply reallocates itself.
To avoid this trap, we must cultivate decisiveness. Decisiveness is not recklessness; it is the discipline of acting when alignment appears. It is understanding that every good thing comes with some level of uncertainty, but uncertainty is not a stop sign. Many successful people will tell you that they took their biggest leaps when they had the least clarity – yet those leaps defined their future.
We must also learn to trust ourselves. Self-doubt is a thief that steals quietly, making us believe that others are more capable or more deserving. But the same opportunity that comes to you is evidence that you are worthy of it. Nature does not waste chances on the unqualified. If the door opens for you, you were meant to at least try walking through it.
Finally, we must respect time. Time does not repeat itself. When a season closes, it rarely returns in the same way. The job you delay applying for today may never be available again. The scholarship you postpone preparing for may not be offered next year. The business idea you shelve for later may be executed by someone else tomorrow. And the people who could have supported you may move on to other priorities. Every season carries its own opportunities; when the season passes, so do the chances.
In the end, life rewards those who respond. The difference between stagnation and progress is often five seconds of courage – the courage to say yes, to submit an application, to start the project, to make the call, to take the step.
So when opportunity knocks, do not negotiate. Do not ask it to wait while you ponder endless possibilities. Do not fear that you are not ready enough, skilled enough, or confident enough. Open the door swiftly. Opportunity respects action, not hesitation.
Because if you don’t claim it, someone very close to you will. And life will simply say: You were next in line, but you stepped aside.
Don’t bargain with opportunities. Embrace them.
By Ashford Kimani
Ashford teaches English and Literature in Gatundu North Sub-county and serves as Dean of Studies.
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