A few years ago, in the space of a week’s time, my wife found out that she did not get TWO jobs she was a finalist for. Wanting to support her, I bought flowers, made a make shift sign reading “Happy you did not get the job day!” and greeted her with cheering at the door when she arrived home. Yes, my intention was to be supportive and mitigate the potential after shock of the news, but the incident sparked a real question for me: Why don’t we celebrate when things don’t work out?
Why don’t we celebrate when things don’t work out?
The immediate answer is obvious; it’s disappointing. Disappointment makes people feel like crap, so why would you celebrate it? The very idea is kinda stupid! But bear with me for a second as we explore the idea. If you think about it, many of the amazing experiences, lessons, and loves we currently cherish in our lives would not have been possible if things had worked out as we planned. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate my ex’s (Well, some of them), but I am VERY thankful those relationships did not work out. If they had, I would not have met the love of my life; my wife, Maria.
If you think about it, many of the amazing experiences, lessons, and loves we currently cherish in our lives would not have been possible if things had worked out as we planned.
For many of us it was the disappointment of not getting accepted to a school or program, losing a job, bombing a presentation, getting dumped, or being passed over for a promotion that was responsible for igniting our passion to pick up arms and fight for what we really wanted in life. It is those disappointments that often become the catalyst for the better things that do happen in our lives.
It is those disappointments that often become the catalyst for the better things that do happen in our lives.
So the next time something doesn’t work out the way you want it to, take a few minutes to stomp your feet, cry a little, shake your fist at the sky, but then find a friend and go celebrate because the door just opened for another amazing experience to be born.