Do you remember the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? Although some of the finer points have been lost to me over the years, I remember that Ferris faked sick so he could stay home. Once his parents were sufficiently convinced of his feverish illness—all carefully executed—and his parents on their way to work, he conspired to get his friends out. It became a monumental adventure spree of epic proportions. Everything seemed to fall in his favor (except the high school principal!) It cause me to think, What would it look like if everything in my life went right?

Have you ever had an amazing day where everything went your way? You snagged the cherry parking spot right by the door, someone prepared your favorite meal, you were the first in line at the best shoe sale ever (because the ones you picked matched many of your outfits!). Or, you aced the interview; got the promotion; the person you were interested in asked you out! Those days are usually pretty memorable.

It’s days like that, that I’d wish it could last so much longer. I wanted to squeeze every drop of enjoyment from it because those days are so precious few. Be honest, if you could get it, you’d want a lot more of those days, wouldn’t you?

But what do you do when the opposite happens and there’s a landslide of things that go wrong? The car breaks down, the bank account looks thin, the people at work get ugly or a client you had an appointment with cancels last minute?

How you deal with those moments can make you or break you. Can you keep a positive attitude in spite of your checking account shrinking below a certain level it? Do you see unexpected events as divine opportunities for God to move? One man I knew said he loved when problems arose, because he wanted to see how YHVH was going to get him out of it.

In a work environment, when your co-workers get surly and salty, do you think it’s high time some of them left? Or, do you see that the Maker of the Universe may be directing you to break out for your new opportunity?

What does this mean for you?

As a person of faith, I see adverse circumstances and perceived setbacks as trials and growth opportunities. Sure, I could whine and complain, even let myself be miserable. (And sometimes I go there for a bit.) But what if it really isn’t happening TO us but happening FOR us? To growth, to better places, and better people?

As one author says, “What if the things that we thought of as negatives were truly for our benefit?” If you fully believed that, how does it change your perspective? Obviously, easy, breezy days where everything goes my way and I feel happy are the easiest to endure. But the reality is that tough days are part of life here. They come to all of us, so why don’t not plan for them? With a little forethought, we can script how to handle the days when stars scatter and the planets fail to align.

This concept helped me learn how to reframe “negative” situations. My network in the early days of my business was small. I’d scroll through my network, find interesting people I wanted to meet, get to know or work with and sent connection invitations. Although not all people responded, many of them did, which led to collaborating on new projects.

One of Dana’s clients took a 90-day hiatus due to family issues. She used the time to take a class on best industry practices for her growing business. The additional expertise helped her develop an additional income stream.

When the entire exhaust system on Karla’s car had to be replaced, she didn’t complain about the rather high expense. Instead, she was grateful that she’d been near the mechanic’s garage instead of scraping and sparking down the freeway. (Plus, she kept her mechanic employed and he was glad for the work!)

Several of Darnell’s accounts owed him money. While waiting for repayment, his account dipped lower than he liked. Instead of panicking and turning miserly, he chose to treat a friend to lunch and contributed significantly to one of his favorite charities. He landed a new client the very next week. Incredibly, the pay from the new client not only topped up his account, but exceeded what he’d had in it before.

These scenarios may seem incredible, but they’re absolutely true. Instead of letting the situation get the best of you, can you re-frame it and find the benefit?

It may take some effort and certainly the first few times you do it, it may feel ridiculous. But notice how you feel when it works.  Once you get used to it, you’ll start seeing challenges as opportunities to be great. Quite possibly, you’ll begin having more of those everything-going-right days that we all love.