In this life whatever happens is never good or bad, it is all simply richly interesting.

Have you ever had something happen in your life that felt like a bad thing only later to realize in the long run it turned out to be a good thing? I would like to share a story from my recent travels. I was in Orlando to launch my new “From Success to Significance” coaching program. It was a quick overnight trip as I didn’t want to miss an excellent GKIC Marketing Group Chapter meeting the next morning.

My presentation ended around 2:00 p.m. and I spent the next relaxing hour enjoying the 72 degree weather with sunny clear blue sky and walking around beautiful Lake Oreo in downtown Orlando. My flight back to Milwaukee was scheduled for 7:45, had me stopping in Atlanta, and arriving home around 11:30 p.m. Pretty much a perfect schedule.

When I arrived back at the hotel to pack up I realized I had about two and a half hours free time yet, so I inquired on the airline’s website to see if there were any earlier flights home… just in case it might work. What I saw really surprised me. The second leg of my flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee was canceled. I was never notified. Here’s where the good and bad of it all gets interesting.

When I called the airport and spoke with an agent at the ticket counter, she said she didn’t know about the cancellation and that the only other flight was 6:00 p.m. and it had only two remaining seats open. She was not able to put me in either seat unless I was at the counter in person. When I called Priceline, they said it appeared I had been now rescheduled to the 7:20 a.m. flight back to Milwaukee the following day. They were not able to make changes at this time either, and there apparently was no offer to cover the cost of an unexpected hotel room. When I called the Airtran central reservations line I was told that there was no option to change at this point, and no compensation for the inconvenience. It doesn’t sound like an ideal sequence of events at this point, does it?

Here’s the rest of the story. I decided to ask for a supervisor just to pose the question, “Is there any way you can improve this scenario for me?”

I really enjoyed my 6:00 p.m. flight back to Milwaukee, avoided the layover in Atlanta, arrived home three hours ahead of my earlier expectation, and enjoyed one of those two remaining seats on the plane. My seat was in the exit row, with the only other open seat right next to me. You know what that mean: unlimited leg room and unlimited arm room… quite luxurious! In the next seat over was the most delightful gentleman, a hotel manager from Chicago, who is very interested in mindset and positive thinking in a business setting with his staff, and asked to check out my website for help with some ideas.

Oh, and here’s one more thing: I unexpectedly appeared at my son’s 9:00 p.m. basketball game, to his great surprise and joy. When his coach saw this emotional display, he invited me to sit with him on the team’s courtside bench. It turned out to be the most competitive and exciting game of the season! So, I guess it’s pretty clear that this canceled flight was not a “bad” thing, was it?

Don’t mess with infinite intelligence. What happens in our lives is always for a reason, and there is no way from our physical perspective we can judge it in the moment. What appears good or bad at the time may eventually feel dramatically different. So here’s what I recommend: whenever you are tempted to judge something in the moment, use the phrase “Oh, that’s interesting” to describe it. I love that perspective. I am going to post that phrase on my refrigerator today, so I can savor the events of yesterday even more fully.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “It is not what happens to us that matters, it is our attitude about what happens to us that makes the difference.” Take the perspective that each occurrence in our lives is a mystery that will unfold in time. Enjoy it, explore it, savor it. Watch the magic of it all unfold.

I can’t wait to see what is going to happen today, and I am ready in each moment with my new phrase, “Oh, that’s interesting!”

Author's Bio: 

Rick Schaefer M.D. is an established author and is the creator of Extreme Thought Makeover™ … 37 Days to Maximum Life! He has a life coaching practice, teaching from the principles in his program. Rick also has 19 years experience as a physician, and 14 years experience studying personal development, success, and the Law of Attraction. He now works at the intersection of those two fields by helping people at the root cause of disease … their thinking. He is the father of three, and makes his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the shore of Lake Michigan.
He can be heard regularly on WISN Radio 1130 AM in Milwaukee. He has been President of the Anesthesia Society, has taught at the Medical College of Wisconsin, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio, and has been a featured speaker at regional and national success seminars. He has also appeared on the Lifetime TV Network’s “The Balancing Act.”