The next time someone offers you an opportunity you don’t immediately want, don’t automatically say yes.
And don’t automatically say no.
Pause.
Ask what the opportunity really involves.
Ask why they chose you.
Ask what you would learn.
Ask what it would make you known for.
Ask what it would replace.
Then compare it with the direction you actually want.
Maybe you’ll discover that the opportunity is better than it first appeared.
Maybe you’ll realize it is exactly the kind of work you’ve been trying to avoid.
Or maybe you’ll see a way to reshape it into something more useful.
The important thing is that the decision becomes intentional.
Because career progress isn’t simply about getting more opportunities.
It’s about getting better at recognizing which opportunities are worth becoming the person who is capable of doing them.