Back in 2008, I booked airline tickets to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I thought I’d save us three hours of driving time from the Denver Airport by booking a connecting flight from Denver to a little airport about 25 miles outside of Steamboat. This was to be our last little getaway before our first baby was born.

My mate and I were jazzed to once again visit his uncle and see the beautiful sights. When we arrived in Denver, I looked up at the airport departure monitor and saw that our connecting flight had been cancelled. Bummer! The desk clerk told us that the next flight wouldn’t be until the following afternoon. I was ticked off all of five minutes. Then I decided this would be a good thing rather than a pain in the bum.

That was a pivotal moment and great choice.

As we got into the elevator to go rent a car to drive to Steamboat, we overheard a woman on her cell phone. She was supposed to have been on that same flight with us. We invited her and her 4-year-old daughter to join us in our rental car.

We made her a very happy gal.

When we got to the rental car desk, I ended up saving almost 50% on a rental car from Denver versus renting one in Steamboat, and we got upgraded to a bigger car. Then I cancelled the puddle jumper flight that we were supposed to take back to Denver in a few days since we’d be driving back from Steamboat. Ka-ching! More money saved.

The drive there was filled with chatter from our guest rider about the best baby products I should buy. She kept us entertained and awake until our midnight arrival in Steamboat.

We decided that on our drive back to the Denver Airport, we’d take a detour through Rocky Mountain National Park. My mate and I had never been there. Many amazing things happened as a result of our short flight being cancelled.

How many times do you react to unexpected stuff as if it were a bummer rather than an opportunity?

What if you began responding to all unforeseen circumstances in your life as detours toward amazing experiences?

It’s fine to have your moment of frustration, but then be deliberate about pivoting your focus and intentions positively, as soon as you’re able.

Make a decision that good stuff will happen as a result of the “perceived” bad stuff.

I encourage you to get extremely creative about articulating what you’d like to see as a result of the bad thing that just happened.

Question whether it’s even “bad.” Be curious.

What if no circumstance was bad?
What if you created an opportunity to experience joy out of every interaction and event you ran into?
Would you be willing to allow yourself to find the good in it?
What if you allowed the situation to support you in finding clarity, ease, and even bliss?

There are really no bad experiences once you move through the initial negative response. The key is in how you recover.

My brother’s unexpected death taught me this. I went from heartbroken to living my best life ever. Even through the deep mourning process, I experienced so much joy and magic. It changed me forever… in all positive ways.