An easier way to get through life.

I recently had an interesting interaction with a client.  She had just come back from a Caribbean vacation and she looked tanned, rested and quite happy.  When I asked how the trip went, she told me it was incredible.  The weather had been perfect every day, the food was great, and the hotel was clean and comfortable.

However, she mentioned that the trip started off poorly.  In the airport there had been a 2-3-hour delay for her flight.  When I asked her what happened, she stated that there had been a mechanical issue with the plane and that they had to wait until it was repaired. 

I asked her if the trip started off poorly because the plane had to turn around and go back to be repaired.  She said no, they had discovered the issue before they left and fixed it.  It had been the delay that had threatened to ruin the trip.  Then I responded: “It’s a good thing they found the issue and repaired it before you got on the plane and not in mid flight!” 

The Light Bulb Moment

That was when I saw the light bulb go off in her mind.  Now she understood my point.  The trip might not have happened at all if the plane had malfunctioned mid flight and had to turn back. In that case, many people might have decided that they were scared to fly if the plane could break down like that.  The trip had actually started off well, other than the delay, as the plane she took was in excellent working order!  Mechanics had just finished repairing it and making sure it was air worthy.

Finding the Positive in a Situation

The point of the story is there is often a positive part of every situation if you look for it.  In the vacation example I was immediately able to see it.  If you are delayed for several hours because they are fixing your plane on the ground I’m sure you’ll agree that you prefer that they fixed it before you got on the plane rather than they discover the issue after you’ve already been flying for awhile!

Finding the positive in any situation will make difficult situations, like an airport delay, easier to deal with.  It may not always be easy to find, but when you do, the positives will be the things you remember the most.