Everything always works out in my favor.
The Sunday Journal #02
Everything happens for a reason. That’s a quote I’m a firm believer in. While it’s often used to dispel negative thoughts or as a vague encouragement to someone falling on hard times, I think it has a much deeper meaning than we give it credit for. When something doesn’t work out, plans fall through, or my Jeep breaks down, I can’t help but try and see the bigger picture. It happened for a reason, right? So now it’s my job to try and figure out what that reason is.
Yesterday was supposed to be the Myrtle Beach Duck Festival, but inclement weather put a damper on those plans. And Tank was supposed to be in the Jeep & Truck show! I was excited to sit down with a pipe or cigar and enjoy the day, the vendors, and, of course, the rubber ducks, but unfortunately that didn’t work out. They rescheduled it, but it’s now a day that I won’t be in town. Instead, I’ll actually be out doing Jeep things with my Jeep.
While canceled plans suck, and my fiancé and I were looking forward to it, it happened for a reason, so I began to look for the “why.” Immediately, I turned my attention to my personal life and this blog. There were some things that I had wanted to get done, and attending the Duck Fest would have put a hold on my plans. If it was going to be rainy and stormy all day Saturday, then that would give me an opportunity to stay inside and get some writing done, as well as some other things that I’ve had to put off this week. I had found a reason.
I also have an affirmation that I tend to repeat to myself:
“Everything always works out in my favor.”
While that might sound self-centered on the outside, I believe that it coincides completely and fully with the saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” Whatever that reason is, I believe that it will always be in my favor, even if it might not always look that way at first. My Jeep breaking down might be a huge problem at first, but perhaps being stranded on the side of the road prevented a terrible accident. Perhaps it happened where it did, when it did for a reason.
There’s a story I bring up about Tank a lot—the time his front driver tire fell off. When I say fell off, I mean, it literally fell off and began rolling down the road. A day before, we had been doing some rock crawling up at Uwharrie, and drove 70mph down the interstate to get back home. Twenty more minutes of driving, and the tire falls off. I try not to think about what could have happened if we were on the interstate. Yes, when it fell off we were on our way to the beach to enjoy ourselves, so was it an inconvenience? Yes! Was I angry and upset? Yes! But I am so grateful that it happened where and when it did. It happened for a reason, and it worked out in my favor by not happening on the interstate at 70mph, or while we were deep in the mountains on the trails.
Whenever something happens that might seem like a hindrance, I always look for what it could have prevented, or how it could have helped me, because, as I said, everything happens for a reason, and I believe it will always work in my favor. I might not see the immediate benefits of losing a tire on the road, but I can always guarantee that there will be something good to come out of a shitty situation.
Even as I sit here and write this, I’m super thankful for the opportunity to do so, even if I was supposed to be out at the Duck Fest today. And even if I won’t even be able to attend the Duck Fest due to plans that I’ve already made, I can think of a few reasons why that might be! I believe that life gives us many signs and signals, but if we’re not actively looking for them, then we might wander through life in a miserable haze with a “woe is me” attitude. Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it. If you can’t do something to change it, don’t worry about it!
I could easily flip the script on myself and turn all of my misfortunes into the worst possible thing that could happen to me, but I choose not to, because honestly? Life is too beautiful and fantastic for me to wallow in anger or disappointment at events that I can’t even change. I wish more people could think like this, but I can’t change how people react to life; I can only change how I react to life, and hope that I can inspire others to do the same.
