It Could Have Been Worse

A partially melted 240V electrical outlet. Someone was looking out for us…

It's been a rough couple of weeks.

An unplanned indoor water feature.

A near electrical fire.

A few surprise car repairs.

A painful lost tooth.

A tick bite.

At one point, someone offered a seemingly innocent question:

“What if these things are happening instead of something worse?”

That question brought me back to Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way.

Life rarely unfolds neatly. The things we wish away often carry the lessons we need most. Candidly, my misteps have proven far more invaluable than costly.

Looking back, each "problem" could have been worse:

• The leak caused (relatively) minimal damage.

• We escaped an actual fire.

• The repair bills were less than initially quoted.

  (and provided a valuable lesson in trust)

• The tooth came clean out.

• The tick bite was caught and treated early.

Of course, it would've been easier if none of it had happened. But that isn’t how life works. You can dwell on what went wrong, or you can adapt, learn, and grow from it.

While it’s natural to wish for a smooth, easy path, (ironically) take comfort in knowing that the obstacle you’re facing might just be the very thing making you stronger, if you let it.