5 Ways to Discern Between an Opportunity or Distraction

February 2, 2023

Gold splatter and gray background with image of dark-haired woman sitting at table with laptop writing in notebook and title Follow your calling! 5 Ways to easily discern between an opportunity or a distraction in order to grow! stefaniegass.com/blog

Have you been asking yourself if you should move forward with an opportunity or doubting if it’s only a distraction to what you should be truly focusing on? If this is you, I have 5 specific questions that you can ask yourself to discern if you are facing opportunity or distraction. It’s so important to understand which it is so you can follow your calling for your business! Grab your journal and get ready to take some notes.

Follow Your Calling By Discerning Between an Opportunity or Distraction

Before we jump into these 5 ways to help you follow your calling, I have a free workshop that you can take right now that will help clarify your calling and create a profitable online business! Setting up this business model will allow you to work from literally anywhere. It’s going to help you make sure you’re following the path God has for your business before you take the next step!

Gold splatter and gray background with quote Discernment is taking inventory and figuring out what the right choices and beliefs are versus what the incorrect choices and beliefs are. -Stefanie Gass

Use the Holy Spirit to discern if it’s an opportunity or distraction

Channeling the Holy Spirit that lives within each one of us as believers can help us discern what is from God and what is from ourselves. I don’t ever want to make a choice that isn’t from Holy Spirit. Making sure that every single corner of your life is centered on your calling needs to be the priority.

Recent times have made it very challenging when it comes to making decisions not only for our personal lives but our businesses as well. We need to be clear on what is an opportunity and what is a distraction. I am going to give you 5 easy steps to write down and keep handy so you can discern if what is ahead of you is an opportunity or distraction.

First I want you to write down three major things that you are struggling to decide about. These might be things in your personal life, motherhood, or business. After you do this, I want you to draw a line and start with question one.

1. Was this from God?

I can be 100% honest with you right now and tell you that 80% of my downloads are from me and not from God. This question is normally pretty clear in its answer. This is a simple yes or no question that you should be able to answer quickly as well.

2. Does the opportunity or distraction fit in your life/calendar?

This question typically removes most things right away. If I hear of a great opportunity but I know it won’t fit into my life and calendar at that moment, this is a distraction. Some months are meant to be peaceful months or months of rest. If you know that you don’t have the time or energy for said “opportunity” turn it down and wait until the timing is right. Do not wiggle on this! If it doesn’t fit into your calendar right now, move on!

3. Does this align with your calling?

This question will help you stay focused on your calling for your business. I want to share 2 examples with you. Recently, I started using a new makeup and absolutely love it! I started asking myself, “Should I start selling this stuff?!” If I look at question #2, I know that answer is yes. However, if I ask myself question #3, the answer is NO! Selling online makeup does NOT align with my calling so the answer is simple. Again, this is going to help you stay focused on what you should be doing with your business so you can see clearly whether things are an opportunity or distraction.

Now I also got an invitation to be a speaker at The Dreamer’s Summit. Is it from God? Yes. Does it fit in my calendar? Yes! Does it align with my calling? Yes!! The people that are running the Dreamer’s Summit are women that are entrepreneurs that are doing things for the kingdom of God. So this opportunity makes sense to move forward with.

4. Does this make me money, help me save time, or bring me visibility?

If any of these answers is no, then the answer altogether is no. If you want to swap out “making money” with “bringing joy,” that is acceptable. However, the goal is to see if your time is worth what you are going to invest in. If you know without a doubt that this opportunity is from God, do it! Absolutely move forward. But if the first 3 questions are a no and it’s not earning you an income, this is a distraction. As a business owner, your calling involves making money. You do not have time to waste!

5. Is this scaleable or evergreen?

If you are getting ready to take on an opportunity that is time for money and isn’t scaleable or going to continue to bring you more followers in the future, I would label this a distraction. For example, if you are asking yourself if starting a podcast is the right thing to do, go through questions 1-4 and answer those questions honestly. If you have answered all those questions with a yes, then once you get to question 5 if the answer is both, the answer will be yes.

I will give you another example that is not business related. “Should I homeschool my kids?” What is from God? Sometimes it is and sometimes this decision is made based on fear. Number 2 is a big deal in this situation. Number 3, does it align with your calling? We are called to be kingdom mothers and we need to figure out what the best solution is to make sure our kids are as successful as they can be. Number 4, does it bring you joy? And last but not least number 5, this question doesn’t always make sense for personal issues so it’s okay if you scratch this one.

Gold splatter background and quote Wait for God's yes to appear and be open to redirection. -Stefanie Gass

Go through these questions so you can understand whether you are facing an opportunity or distraction. Look and see what your answers are. If you see mostly no’s, it’s a no! Don’t get stuck with a distraction and miss out on the opportunity that is waiting for you. Follow the opportunities that God is bringing you and walk in your calling. I hope this blessed you today my friend!

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 326 for the full training on Discern Distraction vs. Opportunity in 5 Simple Steps.

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Before you go, be sure to watch the free workshop!

This free workshop is for you if you want to grow an online business in less time.

It will teach you how to explode your audience without the social media hustle, make consistent sales using a podcast, and plan, record, and launch a podcast with ease!