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6 I The Best Online Education System in the world
DOING THE TANGO
Kathlyn Q. Barrozo
Class of 1991, University of Santo Tomas
B.S. Medical Technology
Man was designed to be the most intelligent creature on earth. It is upon him to use that intelligence to discern
the wise from the foolish, the truth from the falsity, the opportunity from the mere gamble. In our self-
preparation, we must be truthful, for people can sometimes, nay, oftentimes lie. Let us be kind, for people will
often be ungenerous. Let us be forgiving, for people can sometimes be malicious.
We all take chances—on love, on career choices and changes, on money-making ventures, and on most
everything else. And yet, how many of us see opportunities as they really are?
We can take risks, but we must learn to calculate the greatness of that risk. We can say that success is highly
unlikely, but how will we ever know if we never once try? We can always say that taking an opportunity would
just prove to be a waste of time, but why don’t we take an opportunity while holding on to something tried and
tested? That way, we’d be hitting two birds with one stone. We’d win both ways if the tested method delivers
the desired results, and we wouldn’t be on an entirely losing streak if the other, untested method fails.
What we are trying to point out here is, when we take an opportunity, we should have a control piece,
something we can always fall back on if the opportunity becomes too much to handle. By all means, let us grab
the opportunity to show our capabilities, but let us not let go of our present anchors entirely. It’s pretty much
like playing your cards right: maintain a poker face; don’t let others see too many of your aces; do not by all
means let others see that you hold bad cards; calculate your risks; lay your good cards gradually, not in one,
rushed moment. If you do, others will see the opportunity that you have presented to them to beat you at your
own game.
This is not to say that we must learn to be liars and double-faced, no. In all our dealings, we must be true, we
must honest. We must be generous and forgiving. We must be cooperative. But let us not forget that in our
truthfulness and honesty and compassion, we must not lose sight of ourselves, our true purpose to derive not
material things, but spiritual transcendence. You might say, that’s a complicated dance step to execute. It really
is.
However, it is up to us to turn that dance step into a craze. No, not the maddening kind. But the type that
would get people saying, whoever invented this dance step is good. He saw opportunity where other people
would’ve seen chaos.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Why should we always have a Plan B? Do you think it’s always advisable to have one?
2. Do you always have an alternative way for taking challenges? Do you ever get confused with the primary,
recommended way and your alternative way?
3. What should be our ultimate goal when we take the opportunities that come our way?
4. How can we help others take opportunities wisely?
5. When an opportunity that you pursue fails to come out as expected, what is your wisest course of action?