EPISODE 69
Thank you for tuning in to episode 69! I have another short and sweet episode for you today! Have you ever heard experts or coaches tell you to embrace your failures or pitfalls but then wondered what that meant or, better yet, how do you do that?
I’ll admit it isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it is by far the quickest way to get a more profound meaning out of every bad situation. As usual, I’ll have a few examples for you. Ten times out of ten, I rather hear an example than just a theory.
I’ll start with a story. Many moons ago, we went on vacation with a couple and their kids. Although the location and vacation itself were amazing, it was more than challenging to vacation with our friends. We had utterly different lifestyle habits, we raised our children differently, and overall that part of the trip was challenging. As we were nearing the end of our stay, my friend mentioned that her uncle had an additional week that we could use at a hotel nearby. Now, believe me when I tell you that I would have loved to stay in Cancun another week if it was less chaotic, but I decided to pass on the offer in order for me to keep my sanity.
We all returned as planned, and I wondered for a few minutes if maybe I should have stayed another week. I don’t think we were fully unpacked from the trip when we heard the news. Hurricane Wilma was decimating Cancun. At that moment, it was easy to be grateful that we weren’t there, but what I failed to do was appreciate the circumstances that led me to decline the offer to stay another week.
Let’s just play this scenario out a bit. Had things been just slightly different. If we all had an incredible time together, there were no hourly temper tantrums, etc. I would have been crazy not to take another week of vacation! In the years past, I looked at the events and circumstances as being completely unrelated. In other words, when I look back now, I can honestly say that I’m grateful for the discomfort that I felt that week that we were there vacationing together.
I learned a couple of things, it gave me perspective on who to share our vacation time with, and time has also allowed me to connect the events that led to my decision. I can now see that what I viewed as a negative experience was actually the most significant gift of all.
Sometimes the negative event is too fresh, and you cannot find the good in the situation, but if you keep an eye out for it, I’m sure you’ll soon see a brighter outcome.
The trick is to keep the two events related to one another. If you do that, you’ll soon begin to recognize that adverse events, pitfall, and accidents are the stepping stones to a better situation.
Several years ago, my kids were in an accident. Although they both walked away with minor injuries and concussions, it took a while for them to get past the trauma of the event. The other day when I was talking with my daughter Nadia, we were talking about the accident and how it’s difficult for her to drive down the street where the car was totaled. Every time she sees the intersection, she is filled with anxiety.
I completely understand how difficult it is to overcome a thought pattern, but it’s important to frame it differently. I asked her to look at that intersection as the place where she got a second chance. We’ve all heard of people that have been through similar situations or worse. They live through something horrible and sometimes even life-altering, but it is in their hands to recognize that surviving tragedy is a gift.
If you can take an awful situation and see the positive in it, you’ll soon find that you’ll be counting your blessings. Because if one thing is for sure, life will be full of ups and downs, and it’s how long we decide to stay in the valleys that will determine how we see our future.
If every time something terrible happens, we fear that things will only get worse, or we retreat to a place of fear and anxiety, we slowly begin to find comfort in our worry. We’re missing the opportunity to reframe that event as a natural progression to the next best thing to happen. Getting up and dusting yourself off, and having faith that this happened as part of your greater story will give you the ability to live your life to the fullest.
Life’s trials make up our story and get woven into our journey. They make us stronger. And if we continue to believe that each situation is helping us get to a better place, we will keep growing!
I love that many businesses have grown out of discovering how to overcome a hurdle. Whether a personal hurdle or a business-related one, the difficulties we face and the lessons learned allow us and others to rise!
I wanted to thank you for tuning in, for recommending the show, and for reaching out to me. It’s great to get your emails and to read your comments. If there’s a guest that you would like to hear on the show or a topic that you would like to hear more about, send me an email! Hearing from you makes my day!
I’ll see you next time!
CONNECT WITH ME
Sponsors
