September event: “Saying yes to opportunities that intimidate you”

Posted by Luisa Fernanda Gomez Vargas

22 October 2026

At September’s WiC event, we explored the topic “Saying yes to opportunities that intimidate you” . We were Joined by guest speaker Kathi Pietschnig, who is a Coach for women in STEM and co-CEO of Natuvion Austria (an IT-Consulting company employing 52% female workforce).

Kathi began the session with a presentation to introduce us to the topic. She discussed what happens when an opportunity sits beyond our comfort zone. Our minds can quickly fill the gap with thoughts such as “I’m not qualified enough,” “I don’t know how to do this,” or simply “I can’t do this.” Those thoughts can create anxiety, fear and overwhelm, potentially leading us to turn down an opportunity, avoid engaging with it, or exhaust ourselves trying to prove that we deserve it.

 Kathi’s central message was that discomfort is not evidence that we should stop, rather, discomfort is the space in which growth happens. Rather than fighting uncomfortable thoughts, we can notice and acknowledge them, and then choose how we want to act. Waiting until we feel completely ready or comfortable can mean waiting indefinitely. Sometimes we need to say yes first and grow into the opportunity.

Working with discomfort

Kathi shared several practical approaches for navigating opportunities that feel intimidating:

Separate skill gaps from belief gaps. “I’m not good enough” is too broad to act on. Instead, identify the specific skills you need to work on for this opportunity, then build them one at a time.

Make space for discomfort. If growth requires stepping beyond our comfort zone, uncomfortable thoughts may come with us. We can notice them without allowing them to determine what we do next.

Answer your own questions. When your mind asks, “What if I can’t do this?”, try giving it a practical answer rather than allowing the question to spiral.

Bring the fear with you. Fear does not have to disappear before you begin. You can acknowledge it and still take the next step.

Fail forward. Rather than relying on “fake it until you make it”, treat setbacks as information. Each experience gives you something to learn from and use next time.

Once you make a decision about an opportunity: Love your reasons and trust your choice. Make a conscious decision grounded in what matters to you, rather than continually reopening it through doubt or regret.

Opportunity or just more work?

This led us into an interesting group discussion: How do we distinguish a genuinely valuable opportunity from something that is simply more work? Not every request is necessarily an opportunity worth pursuing. Before saying yes, it can help to gather enough information to understand what the commitment actually involves. How much time will it require? Will it help you develop useful skills, broaden your network or move towards something that matters to you? Is there value in it for you as well as for the person asking? Capacity matters too. Taking on something new may mean giving up time elsewhere, whether that is another piece of work, rest or time with family. Being honest about your capacity is not a lack of ambition.

The discussion also highlighted that saying yes does not remove your ability to reconsider. Sometimes we only discover what an opportunity really involves after accepting it. If new information substantially changes the commitment, it is reasonable to reassess whether it is still right for you.

Learning what to say yes to

Earlier in our careers, trying different opportunities can be particularly valuable. Joining a panel, speaking at an event, getting involved in a committee or trying something else outside our comfort zone can help us discover what we enjoy and where we want to develop. Each experience gives us another data point: What worked? What didn’t? What did I enjoy? What would I do differently? Did the opportunity become what I expected, or did it surprise me? An opportunity also does not have to map perfectly onto a fixed career plan to be worthwhile. It might develop a skill, introduce you to new people, act as a stepping stone or reveal a direction you had not previously considered. Over time, those experiences can help us become more intentional about what we say yes to as well as help us distinguish between genuine opportunities vs more work.

 Saying yes intentionally

One of the strongest messages from the discussion was that choosing well is itself a skill, and none of us will get the balance right every time. The aim isn’t to say yes to everything that scares us. Nor is it to avoid anything that makes us uncomfortable. Instead, we can ask ourselves what is behind that discomfort. Is fear holding us back from an opportunity that could help us grow, or are we genuinely at capacity? Are we saying yes because the opportunity matters to us, or because we feel obliged to please someone else? We may never feel entirely ready for the opportunities that intimidate us. But rather than automatically running from discomfort, we can become curious about it, take the next step with purpose and give ourselves permission to learn along the way.