I take every great opportunity that comes my way.

Opportunities have appalling timing.

They arrive in the week the boiler broke, three days after you committed to something else, in a month with nothing left over to give anybody.

The convenient version is a fantasy about scheduling. Almost nobody is offered the thing during a calm fortnight with a clear desk.

Which means taking it is rarely about readiness. It is about saying yes while still tired, then rearranging the week around a decision already made. People who seem to catch everything are not less busy. They have just stopped waiting to be handed a good moment along with it.