Recognizing Opportunity: The Case of the Golden Raspberries—Taryn Laakso

I am pleased to be able to share a guest post from my friend Taryn Laakso from my Co-Active Leadership Program Tribe. I like her story about golden raspberries. Here it is:

My partner's backyard has a great patch of raspberry plants. Last summer, I was excited to know we'd be getting some fresh berries during the summer because we'd be moving in together and I would get a chance to pick berries and make some jam! My bubble of excitement quickly burst when he laughed and mentioned he never gets any ripe berries off the bushes because either the birds or the bunnies take all the berries as soon as they ripen. I was bummed out but it didn't last long, I went right into scheming mode. I would outfox those birds and bunnies. I solve problems for a living!

So one summer afternoon I was out in the backyard taking a look at the berries bushes determining how to protect them. There were so many berries that I was confused about how the birds and bunnies could eat ALL THE BERRIES before they got ripe. My intuition was whispering to me saying "this isn't right. Something is off." I took a closer look. The berries were a light orange color, so to the untrained eye, it could seem as if the berries never got ripe. I recalled from my younger teenager days while working loooong days at my parent's garden shop that there are numerous varieties of raspberries in the world.

I wondered if these weren't actually red raspberries at all, but some other variety because these did look so darn plump and juicy, even though they were golden orange! I reached out and gently squeezed one between my fingers. It was plump and soft, but not too squishy. It slid off the stem with ease. Ha! This IS a ripe berry. I popped it into my mouth and holy berry batman! This was juicy and sweet! We had GOLDEN RASPBERRIES! I felt I struck gold with this discovery.

You can probably picture my now gloating face when I came into the kitchen with a handful of fresh berries for him to try. I wish I had had my camera ready for the expression on his face after he took a bite of the golden berry. Gobsmacked—as my kids would say in their fake British accents. He was totally gobsmacked! I was tickled orange to know we had a crop of fresh berries in our backyard. I outfoxed the bunnies and birds after all with very little effort and a shifted mindset of curiosity! Problem solved!

Sometimes we make assumptions and create stories that have us miss out on delicious opportunities. What is possible when we let our curiosity guide us? A shift in perspective may be all that is needed to show us something is ripe right in front of our eyes and ready to be picked. A much better outcome than being frustrated and blaming others for a situation!

Don't miss out on opportunities just because they don't fit into an old thought pattern. Learn to reach out and pluck the golden berry. It might be more delicious than you expected!

Taryn is a co-active coach and supports emerging leaders unlock their potential so they can navigate their life with more confidence, clarity and calm through the choppy waters of business and life.

Here is her coaching contact information:

email address: tarynlaakso@unlaakingyourpotential.com Web: www.unlaakingyourpotential.com

phone number: (206) 310-9409

Click here if you would like to schedule a complimentary 30 minute coaching sessions to unlock your potential!

(link: https://unlaakingyourpotential.coachesconsole.com/calendar/unlaaking-your-potential-sample-session)

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