How To Shoot Your Shot

If you are a college student that plans on graduating summa cum laude in the next couple months and have your future career lined up, this blog most likely isn’t for you. If you are someone like me who is not like the person previously mentioned but believes that your intangibles might be something people in the real world may be interested in, then hop in and hopefully this post can help you. Thinking about life after college can be an unbelievably overwhelming aspect and something that brings a lot of stress to the large majority of students. If there is anything I can recommend to college students now is this, shoot your shot. The phrase shooting your shot can be most closely associated with taking advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself. There is no time like the present so here’s some things to think about that may make “shooting your shot” easier:

1. “You Miss 100% Of The Shots You Don’t Take”:

A quote from Wayne Gretzky made famous by Michael Scott may be a little cliché when it comes to applying it to life but I promise it is something that can help you in the future. There are so many people today that are scared to take a chance because the fear of a possible outcome that doesn’t even exist paralyzes them. Everyone has become so analytical in today’s world that over-thinking has become an epidemic. Talking about doing something is one of the easiest things you can do. Actually following through with that talked about action can sometimes be the bravest things we will ever do. Apply for that job that you have no business getting, volunteer in something that makes you step out of your comfort zone, talk to that person that you think is way out of your league that is sitting at the end of the bar. Thirty seconds of courage can forever change your life in ways that you could never imagine.

2. Failure Is Something You Should Welcome, Not Shun:

For some reason an ideology has been instilled into people around our age group that failure should be avoided like the plague. Through this mindset people have lost the ability to take chances and undertake situations that don’t have an unreasonably high chance of success. I was going to put a quote from some really successful person about how you need failure to succeed but two things happened. The first thing that happened is I realized that about every successful person you can think of off the top of your head has a quote about failure on the internet. The second thing is that I realized is if you’re reading this blog in the first place you have the ability to look them up on your own, so go ahead and check them out. I’ll wait. Okay, cool your back, so if you came to a similar conclusion that I did it is that if you want to succeed in life failure is a vital key to that. Without failure there is little opportunity for someone to grow. Facing adversity is something that makes more complete individuals as well as giving us a better understanding of the task we are trying to complete.

3. Fear Of Regret Should Outweigh Fear Of The Unknown:

As I pointed out earlier many people in this world are so scared of outcomes that don’t exist that they don’t take the chance to seize an opportunity when it presents itself. We have all fallen victim to the situation where we end up over thinking a situation and in the end we avoid it because of some situation that we concocted in our heads. Instead of choosing that route instead think of all the things you could miss out on if the present opportunity is avoided. Fear of missing out on the benefits associated with an opportunity need to higher than fear of what it would involve pursuing that opportunity. Once you can convince yourself of this it will become that much easier to throw yourself at situations that were avoided in the past.

4. Fake It Until You Make It:

Something that I used to think when I was younger is that there will come a day when you become an adult and all of the sudden you have everything figured out. As I have entered the early stages of what many would consider adulthood I have come to find out that the previous statement is not even close to being accurate. People tend to avoid situations where they think they are under qualified or unfamiliar with. Jumping into these situations while being confidence can drastically change the outcome. Giving of the idea that you know what you’re doing will more often than not leave people assuming you do know what you’re doing. Being confident in a situation that may be uncomfortable isn’t always the easiest thing to accomplish though. The best way to get better at it is the same way you get better at anything else: practice. Putting yourself in situations where you aren’t comfortable is the only way that you can actually experience it. Confidence is a major key in life and having the ability to benefit from it in adverse situations will be nothing but an asset.

*Disclaimer: Don’t confuse being under qualified or under informed with being under prepared. Preparing for something can do nothing but help how confident you will be in that given situation. Under preparing is a recipe for disaster and can get you called out for faking it quicker than anything.

5. The Worst Thing They Can Say Is No:

Applying for a job, asking that person on a date, requesting that due date extension from your professor, all things that can be really intimidating to ask. At the same time though the worst that can come from it is a “no”. People can be so frightened by the idea that they will somehow get berated for asking for something that they just figure it’s best if they don’t even try. Thinking of the positive outcomes instead of that one negative can make it incredibly easier to approach the situation in a way that makes in more comfortable for you.

At the end of the day just because you “shoot your shot” doesn’t mean that the situation will work out the way you want it to. If that happens you have to look in the mirror, acknowledge your self-worth, pick yourself up, and move on to the next opportunity. Realize that even though you may have failed the lessons learned have allowed you to grow and become something better. Now go out and do what every parent with a kid in youth basketball/soccer/hockey yells an obnoxious amount: SHOOT! 

Mick Delaney, 21-year-old senior at the University of Montana.