Sometimes, life doesn’t go the way you think it’s going to go, and patience is required.

I think that’s true most days.

We have this idea in our minds of what today is going to be, and then something steps in and changes that for us.

And, sadly, when things don’t go the way we expected, we don’t know how to recover from it.

My Own Lesson in Patience

I am currently in the middle of a huge lesson on patience.

Right now, I’m in Wales with my daughter Emma, moving her to Cardiff University.

That, in itself, is a huge adjustment.

I planned to go home earlier this week, but life happened.

We went out to a nice dinner, and both of us got horrible food poisoning from it.

And when I say horrible, I mean HORRIBLE!

I have never been so sick in my life. It’s the same for Emma.

So, what do you do when something like that happens?

You change your plans.

You cancel your flight.

You miss opportunities to connect with other people in your community.

You wait it out.

And you learn patience.

Because when you are sick to your stomach, all you can do is have patience.

What else are you going to do?

Life Happens, But Misery Is Optional

When things don’t go the way we think they’re going to go, we get to choose how we react to it.

We can throw our hands up in the air and yell, “I quit!”

We can cry and ask, “Why me?”

We can say, “I’m not going to do this!”

We can give up and decide we’re not meant for whatever it is we were trying to do.

In other words, we can sit in our misery.

Or we can tell ourselves that “this too shall pass” and remind ourselves that we are capable of overcoming whatever life throws at us.

This may sound silly because I’m talking about a stomach flu. But I truly believe this applies to every other aspect of our life.

We all have challenging moments like this on a regular basis.

You know what I’m talking about—those moments where you question everything.

We all have moments where we ask:

“Why did this have to happen to me?”

“Why did my relationship not go the way I thought it was going to go?”

“Why did I lose my job?”

So many times, hard things happen, and we don’t know why.

But if we continue along those lines of questioning why, we are just going to end up sad and miserable.

And no one wants that!

There Is Good in Every Challenge

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. However, at the time, we might not realize what that reason is.

Of course, when I’m puking my brains out, I am definitely NOT thinking that this happened for a reason.

But I can still see the good that has come from it.

This experience gave me five extra days to spend with Emma before I had to go home.

I was able to rearrange everything so that I’m still able to keep other commitments.

And my family back home was very patient about it and completely understanding.

All of these things are wonderful things that I’m grateful for.

And honestly, it gives me an extra level of comfort knowing that I had that extra time with Emma to make sure she’s a little more comfortable with her new life.

When we take the time to see the good that comes from the challenges, we can move through those challenges so much easier.

Seeing the good also gives us something to be grateful for.

Gratitude, in itself, is a huge mood booster.

It helps to provide us with the patience we need to endure.

Patience Is Learned

What I am learning from my current circumstances is that as we move through the challenges of life, it’s important that we apply patience.

The good news is that patience isn’t something we’re born with—it’s a skill that we can learn.

Rather than throwing our hands up in the air and saying, “I give up,” we can try to focus on patience instead.

We can practice patience by seeking out the good and making a plan on how to move forward.

Really think about what it is you want coming out of your current challenge.

Because when a bump in the road happens, it gives you the time to change your perspective and maybe even pivot on what you choose to do next.

Again, this may sound ridiculous because I’m learning this lesson with the stomach flu.

But this experience is really teaching me important lessons that I can apply to so many other areas of my life.

Patience Isn’t Just About Waiting

According to the dictionary, the definition of patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

This means that patience isn’t just about waiting for something to come (or something to end). Patience is about waiting without getting angry about it. Or in other words, waiting with a positive state of mind.

The best way to achieve patience is to let go of our frustrations and simply accept what is by focusing on what we already have.

Instead of getting frustrated that I had to miss out on things that I really didn’t want to miss out on, I’m enjoying the time with Emma.

If we always think about what might have been, we get stuck in the past, and we fail to move forward.

There’s often a loss or delay in every challenging thing that happens to us—we can’t avoid it.

Instead of thinking about what could have been, let’s focus on the good we have now and all the good things that are still ahead of us.

Despite the food poisoning, it’s wonderful to be alive, and it’s even better to learn important lessons along the way.

So, my challenge to you is to have patience as you’re moving through the hard parts of your story while keeping your eyes open to all the good that’s still there.

Because I promise you that it will make moving through the bumps in the road so much easier to manage.