OnTheBeach: Put Your Hand Up

View from the apartment miniSo many people have asked me in the past couple of months, since the opportunity to dogsit for 6 weeks in the Canaries came up, “How did you wangle that?!?!” (most people didn’t say wangle, but it’s a great word, and it captures the essence of the question perfectly!) In short, I volunteered. I happened to be in Tenerife on holiday when my friends got their new puppy, and they were talking about how they would not be able to come back to England as often, because of the dog. Instantly, I put my hand up “I’ll dogsit” I said. Everyone chuckled indulgently. Suspecting that they hadn’t entirely taken me seriously, I contrived to bring it up in conversation at least once a day for the next week.

Eventually, I knew the message had got through – I wasn’t kidding, I was volunteering to dogsit so they could go back to England. Over 12 months passed without a call to dogsit, and although I still mentioned it when the subject came up, I didn’t really think too much about it. Then the call came – “Do you fancy dogsitting for 4/5 weeks?” (when we worked out the dates, it turned out to be 6 weeks, but who’s counting?!) Woohoo! Now, you could say I’m a lucky bitch…and you’d have a fair point, but this started with me putting my hand up.

I am in the fortunate position that as long as there’s wi-fi, I can work anywhere in the world, but even if I wasn’t, I could still have put my hand up knowing I could do 2 weeks (to be honest, I never expected them to ask me to dogsit for 6 weeks!). You need to put your hand up. You need to let people know that you’d be willing to step up and help them. Yeah, of course, dogsitting in Tenerife is not a hardship in any way (although the little ants are a plague, more about that another time!), but of all the friends and family who could have volunteered, me and one family member actually did.

The whole situation reminds me of a time at university when all my classmates would ask in awe “How did you get a job in the student union bar?!” Um. I asked if they had any jobs going. It wasn’t like the search for the Holy Grail, it was simply a matter of putting my hand up. Most of the opportunities in my life come about because I put my hand up, I volunteer, I get involved, I say yes! I write for icoach magazine (which in its 6th month, hit a readership of over 12000 – woohoo!) because when Stacy first asked for contributors, I put my hand up, I volunteered, I said yes.

View from the office miniI’m spending 6 weeks in Tenerife (not) working in the sun because I put my hand up. For no other reason. Not because I’m a lucky bitch, or the stars were in alignment or because I am a new breed of superhuman (perish the thought!) And here’s the thing, sometimes you put your hand up and nothing comes of it. So what? You lose nothing by saying yes. Sometimes it doesn’t work out well when you put your hand up, sometimes it is a waste of time, or it sucks. But keep putting your hand up anyway.

Talk to people, tell them that you are available for adventures, for work, for relationships, for opportunities. You don’t even have to put it like that (because I accept that would be pretty weird!) – you can just, in the normal run of conversation, tell people what you’re looking for…and then when tantalising possibilities raise their head, put your hand up. Sometimes we look at others, gasp, and ask reverently “how did they do that?” But most of the time the answer is fairly mundane – they asked, they volunteered, they put their hand up, they spotted an opportunity and went for it.

Falling in love with your life and making your dreams a reality is not rocket science, it’s not a hopeless quest, it’s not an impossible dream. It’s a case of putting your hand up and saying “Yes! I’m up for that” and then taking the actions necessary until it happens. Sometimes those actions are simply a statement “I’ll dogsit for you” and a willingness to put your money where your mouth is, and alakazam! You’re working in a shady spot of a beautiful apartment in Tenerife. Sometimes it’ll take a little more effort, but always it starts with putting your hand up and saying “YES!”

Love

Donna.x


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17 responses to “OnTheBeach: Put Your Hand Up”

  1. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Thanks Valerie – it’s fabulous isn’t, Stacy’s done such a great job! x

  2. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Yup, I’m like Donkey in Shrek “ooh, pick me, pick ME!” ๐Ÿ˜€

  3. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Exactly – one of my favourite sayings is “if you don’t ask, you don’t get!” Thank you xx

  4. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Thanks Cindie! Yes, we need the reminder sometimes eh? xx

  5. Valerie avatar

    What a wonderful example and message. I’m a fan and I too love icoach magazine

  6. Stacy Nelson avatar
    Stacy Nelson

    Love that your hand goes so willingly up… we can all learn from that Donna! Woot!

  7. Shana avatar
    Shana

    I got two part time jobs in college this way… I just called them up and asked if they needed help. Luck or not that they did, I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t asked. This is a simple, yet brilliant, reminder!! Enjoy your stay!!!

  8. Cindie Chavez avatar

    Thanks, Donna for this great post! The idea of “putting our hand up” is so true, and so simple! I appreciate the reminder to “speak up”!! ๐Ÿ™‚ xo

  9. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Thanks Pamela! xx

  10. Pamela avatar

    Congrats on your dog sitting in paradise deal! Sweet! This is definitely right on~ If you wanna make stuff happen, you’ve gotta step up or speak up or at least answer the call. Wishful thinking without action isn’t gonna make it. Enjoy yourself (I have a feeling you will ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Thanks Rachel! Yeah, that’s what prompted me to write this, people kept asking about it as if it just fell out of the sky on me! The more I put my hand up, the more opportunities I get, it’s no coincidence. xx

  12. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Exactly – pray and move your feet, right?! xx

  13. Donnaonthebeach avatar

    Lol Mary – I see you perfectly understood the message! ๐Ÿ˜€ xxx

  14. Rachel Andrews avatar
    Rachel Andrews

    YUMMMM! I love this article and your message. People often complain about not having opportunity and I agree with you…volunteer! Put your hand up! Ask! I also love your writing style. Thanks for sharing. <3 Rachel

  15. Amethyst Mahoney avatar

    Haha, Mary. Classic. ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. Amethyst Mahoney avatar

    Congratulations on putting your hand up! It’s a really important thing to do, especially if you believe in Law of Attraction. You can’t attract anything without taking action, but I guess you already know that. ๐Ÿ™‚

  17. Mary avatar

    Its so true – put your hand up and ask , we create our opportunities. . Are you looking for any company ?