Today’s post comes from Anna Hoyt, an AmeriCorps VISTA serving with the C4 Network.

When I think about all the meaningful phrases, quotes, and challenges that I have heard in my life so far, I’m not exactly at a loss for material. I like to read inspiring books, attend seminars, listen to podcasts, and spend time with wise people who have lived longer than I have in hopes of gaining greater insight on this thing called life.

You could say I’m a personal development junkie. With all this great wisdom being poured into my life, you might expect me to give you dozens of meaningful one-liners, right? Well, not today. I just want to share one which has made a significant change for the better in my life. I read this in a book many years ago, and my parents would also say it to me growing up as a kid; “Make the most of every opportunity.”

I had a chance to put this principle into play recently on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The plan for my day was to participate in a service project with a local organization that included cleaning up an area of the city and doing various projects outdoors with a group of over 1,000 individuals.

I was so excited to participate in an MLK Day service project for the first time in my life. Unfortunately, the plan for the day quickly changed when the phone rang, as I was at home getting ready on the morning of MLK Day. I heard the unwelcomed news that due to flooding in the region, the service project was cancelled. My eager and hopeful mindset shifted in about 30 seconds.

I then recalled this powerful challenge I have lived by for many years now, make the most of every opportunity. This was not going to be a wasted day, or a day off for me.

I resolved to find a way to utilize my resources to make the day of service successful. Through the network that HandsOn and AmeriCorps provide, I was able to call up another AmeriCorps member serving in another part of the Seattle area who was coordinating a completely different project. She invited me to join in her effort to clean transitional homes for AIDS victims moving from the crisis of homelessness to self-sufficiency through a local organization. I had an incredible day serving alongside fellow community members and sharing in a great day of service to honor Martin Luther King Jr. What could have been a very discouraging day resulted in a new opportunity to partner with others and make a real impact in our community.

I’ve learned that the challenge to make the most of every opportunity can be a statement that you read once and never think about again; or it could be something more.

It could become the way you live.

Instead of looking at a frustrating coworker as a hindrance to our workday, we can start seeing it as a chance to learn to live based on the virtue that we ought to be kind rather than act how we feel. Rather than viewing our packed schedule as busy, we can see that we have the opportunity to learn how to create healthy boundaries. Instead of looking at the devastating economic challenges of our neighbors who have no home as someone else’s problem, we can see them as an opportunity to make a difference ourselves and get involved.

Whatever opportunities you are given are yours to do with what you choose. My advice. Make something great of what you have. You don’t know if you’ll get another chance just like it again. Each day. Each opportunity. Make it count. Make it a win for others, and it will be a win for everyone.

Anna serves as an AmeriCorps VISTA member through the HandsOn Network with an organization called The C4 Group. She bases out of Seattle, but works nationally to implement a community engagement model called The Care Strategy in five different cities across the United States, by partnering with five other AmeriCorps VISTA members who serve in various faith based organizations.