How to find the gift in ANY situation!
Yes – it definitely is possible, and if you want to live your best life every single day, it’s a must.
In life, crappy things happen.
And how that event affects us is never about the actual event itself.
You see, the same horrible thing can happen to two different people and those two people end up having two totally different outcomes.
Why is that?
Because it doesn’t matter what happens to you, it’s all about the meaning you give to the event because the meaning you choose to give to the event will then determine how you feel and in turn, what you choose to do in response.
“It’s not what happens, it’s what you do that determines your future.”
Jim Rohn
There are universal laws that are absolute truths. Just like the universal law of gravity, it is a universal law that in every situation there is an equal and opposite, a yin and yang. So as much as the event can be seen as negative, it can equally be seen as positive and vice versa.
Meaning that in every situation, no matter how tough or triggering, there is an equal and opposite positive gift available to you. Sometimes it’s hard to see. In the moment when we’re triggered and hurting, it still helps to ask the question, “what’s the gift in this situation?” Sometimes we can’t see it immediately, and by continuing to ask that question after you’ve processed the emotion that came up, then you will find the gift!
Let me share a little example for you. I had been working for a company and by all measures I was doing an incredible job! I won national sales champion three times in a row, one of which was a solo effort while also leading our First Nations Peoples inclusion and diversity group. I was receiving glowing feedback from colleagues and was on a path to corporate leadership.
This was a company I truly believed I had a solid future with, the Country President was my mentor and I was having regular career development meetings with leaders within the company.
That was until the company attempted to impose what I believe to be an unlawful requirement upon me which meant I could no longer work with them. As you can imagine, I was mortified.
Not to mention the countless hours of unpaid overtime I worked because I was so passionate about what I was doing.
Initially, I was so upset and stressed by the whole situation I needed time to process. After processing, I began to ask myself – ‘What’s the gift in this?’
I began to journal on this. I literally wrote a list of the ‘gifts’ that I could find from this otherwise horrible situation.
The best part was that as soon as I started to look for the gifts, I snapped out of victim mode and feeling sorry for myself, to stepping into my most empowered self and so many amazing things started to happen for me as a result!
I fully appreciate that maybe this is triggering you right now because you could be applying this to a situation in your life and truly believing there is no gift. Sorry to say, but the trigger itself is a gift to you. If you do feel triggered, it’s showing you where there’s opportunity for greater growth.
I do hear you, and I have to respectfully disagree. If we train our brain to look for the gift and continue to ask ourselves that question, slowly but surely beautiful, empowering answers begin to appear.
Hint: in life, you always find what you’re looking for.
What’s the gift in this?
Remember, when you build the habit of asking yourself for the gift in a seemingly negative situation, you can (very) quickly turn something that feels horrible into an incredible and amazing gift for yourself! What have you got to lose… why not just try it for this next week? Every time you’re challenged by something, ask yourself, “what’s the gift in this?”
Fiona Boulton a multi-passionate entrepreneur on a mission to live her best life, every single day, and help you do the same! She has been helping women to create and live a phenomenal life that they absolutely love since 2013.
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