Setbacks as Opportunities

Have you ever felt like if it weren’t for bad luck, you wouldn’t have any luck at all? Most people go through periods of time (long or short!) when it just seems as if no matter what you do, something is going to go wrong. These times are nothing less than aggravating, frustrating and usually unavoidable.

Although no one should expect to sail smoothly through this life, you sometimes feel that bad luck is some negative penance that has to be fulfilled. Of course, if you want to wallow in misery and feed the gloom, you have that option. Yet we suggest that you take control of the situation, and see where the opportunities lie. It is so very true that when one door closes, another – or many – are waiting to be opened -if you have the guts to see it that way and try, try again.

Stuff happens
If there is a way to shield yourself entirely from bad luck, we certainly don’t know what it is. We do know, however, when your luck seems to turn sour, how you handle it often times has a direct impact on how long your bad luck streak is going to last.

Your car breaks down, you get laid off, your dog runs away, you lost a family heirloom, and your partner is showing more interest in the neighbor than in you. All of these things can be looked at as examples of bad luck, and when they all happen in the same week, it is a pretty safe assumption that you are having a bad luck streak. The truth is, things like this are bound to happen, and it is going to suck. You can look at these situations and times as some kind of punishment, or you can use these situations and times to examine yourself and your life – and see the opportunities.

Lucky or not?
Life has a way of directing us, whether we are paying attention or not. Sometimes bad luck is just the Universe’s way of pointing out that there is something or things within ourselves that we need to change. When bad luck happens, look at things a little more closely. Is there a deeper message or meaning, or is this just a moment of random circumstance? So many of us get caught up in the existing patterns of our everyday life that we become energetically complacent, and forget that we have the power to shape and change our existence. Sometimes, a little bad luck is a very good thing.

How you look at it
When your car breaks down, chances are good that it will be raining, and you will be late or not make it at all to that important meeting or date. It’s just the way things go. The experience is most likely going to negatively affect you – after all, this isn’t the way you had things planned. You can give into your negative emotions and let the events define you, or you can look a little at the situation and see if it is an opportunity in disguise.

Is life telling you that you need to make time for the incidental things that you neglect (like regular maintenance on your car)? Maybe, showing up soaked to the bone and 20 minutes late to the meeting showed the higher-ups your level of dedication, which they otherwise wouldn’t have seen… and you got the promotion. Who knows? That date you were meeting could have been a psycho and your life was spared because you didn’t show up, or it could turn out that because of your mishap they were able to show you that they are the type of person you can count on in times of crises.

Pick yourself up!
Look, life is going to test you. Someone your love is likely to fail you and something you desire is probably going to slip through your grasp. These things aren’t fair and can be quite painful. Blame luck all you’d like, but the real question is, can you handle it? That’s right, the universe is testing you to rise to the occasion and take the high road. So that’s what you need to do.

None of us truly knows what we are made of, or what we are capable of, until the situation arises. Sometimes, looking back on all that you’ve achieved can be instrumental in shaping how you will handle adversity in the quest of shaping yourself into who you will become. So when it appears that your luck is not good, you have the ability to turn it into something good with these tips:

1) Always look for the positive, even when you’re sure it doesn’t exist.

2) When bad luck is carving your path, look to see if there is something in you that you should improve.

3) When things are at their worst, take stock of what you have rather than focusing on what you don’t.

4) Understand that if you can accept things as they are, you have just given yourself the power to change them.

5) Decide if you want to be a victim, or if you will choose to be a survivor. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support. That one conscious act often times changes everything.

6) Believe that you can make your own luck, and you will!

Red’s wisdom
When I was a teenager, my sister so eloquently stated that my destiny in life was to: “step in it.” I have to hand it to her, the girl was right. I have definitely experienced my fair share, and then some, of rotten luck. However, when I look back over my life I have to smile. The funny thing about tromping through existence with my feet covered in manure is that flowers bloom in the fertilizer that is the footprints I’ve left behind.