What can happen now that was never otherwise going to happen? 

This is the question that changed my life. 

It’s the reason I have a pilots license, finding the silver lining in an ACL tear at the height of my skiing obsession. It’s the reason I went to Guatemala in 2012 when I broke my collarbone. And the reason I had the trip of a lifetime on Aconcagua when my initial ski plans fell completely apart.  And it’s the reason for a lot of what you see happening in my life now . . . 

It’s a question I use when things go as desired, and a question I use when they don’t! 

I find a ton of freedom in asking myself what possibility is created from anything that happens in my life, be it a “positive“ or “negative“ at the time. And in that way, the Eleanor Roosevelt quote, “nothing is ever as good or bad as it seems at the time“ rings true. 

I have found a lot of possibility exists in the realm of things we never wish to happen. Sometimes getting what we want can ironically be a cage that keeps us trapped in our self-concept, perhaps not expanding and growing as we otherwise might. Showing up to whatever happens means showing up and getting the most out of everything life has to offer, including the things we never would’ve asked for.

Using this question, events that at the time seem horrifyingly bad, turned out to be some of the best things that ever happened to me. And, I have found that things that seem incredible and over the top fabulous, often times do in fact have a dark side that develops over time. This question helps me balance out the whole.

I challenge you, ask yourself next time something happens, and it doesn’t matter where on the spectrum of good and bad this thing is, “what can happen now that would otherwise never be possible?”  What possibility can you find lurking in the shadows of every experience you have?  

And how might that approach catapult you into making the most of everything life sends your way – THAT is showing up. It’s a tool to step up from being purely resilient into actually thriving through whatever comes your way 🙂