Facing Bad Events

Bad things happen in life.  You may not have planned for it and you may not deserve it.  But bad things happen anyway.  Many moons ago, one of my heroes gave me the following advice: “You may not be able to choose what or when something bad happens to you, but you are definitely in charge of how you respond to it.”

Do you curl up in a ball, pull the bedsheets up over your head and try to ignore the world passing you by?  Do you drink yourself to oblivion in an attempt to forget?  Do you impulsively retaliate against someone to try to even out the bad news?

Or do you take a few deep breaths, talk with a trusted person, vent and strategize how best to proceed?  I am not suggesting that taking this approach is easy.  In contrast, it can be very difficult depending on the size of the bad event or the duration of a series of bad luck.  But after years of working with clients and helping them navigate the bad news in their lives (as well as handling bad news in my own life), I am confident that it is more favorable in the long run to be thoughtful and methodical about how to proceed – – whether it be by no action at all, or by careful evaluation of what to do next.  After all, if bad events are unavoidable, don’t we deserve to make them the least damaging to our lives?