When Things Don’t Go According to Plan, Look for What’s Still Good

I don't think anyone gets through life without things going wrong.

Plans change.

Cars have problems.

Keys get locked inside vehicles.

Weather doesn't cooperate.

People disappoint us.

Unexpected expenses show up.

And sometimes, despite our best efforts, the day simply doesn't go the way we pictured it.

My summer road trip gave me plenty of opportunities to practice this.

And one of the biggest things I came home with wasn't a souvenir or a photograph.

It was a reminder:

Even when something goes wrong, there is usually something good happening at the same time.

We just have to notice it.

The locked keys

One day, I managed to lock my keys in my vehicle.

Not exactly what you want when you're travelling.

But where was I?

At the ocean.

And Zen was with me.

So yes, I was waiting for a tow truck and dealing with an inconvenience—but I was also sitting at the ocean with my dog.

The situation wasn't ideal.

But the entire experience didn't have to become only about what had gone wrong.

I could notice what was still right.

And that's something I've been learning more and more:

Gratitude doesn't mean pretending something isn't difficult.

It means refusing to let the difficult thing become the only thing you see.

Then came the car trouble

Near the end of my journey home, my car started wanting to stall.

After thousands of kilometres, the last thing you want is a vehicle deciding it has had enough.

I could have immediately gone into panic mode.

But I was close enough to home that, if necessary, I could have called for a tow.

And instead of immediately assuming the worst, I stopped, thought through the situation, problem-solved and managed to get the car going again.

Was it stressful?

Absolutely.

Was it what I wanted?

Definitely not.

But even there, there was something good.

I had options.

I was close to home.

I was able to think through the problem.

And I got through it.

Sometimes the good thing isn't that the problem disappears.

Sometimes the good thing is discovering that you can handle more than you thought you could.

I didn't do this trip alone

Another thing I noticed throughout this journey was how many people showed up for me.

Friends checked on my home while I was away.

When I needed help with things from a distance, people answered.

At one point, I needed help getting the gas turned back on at home and getting the hot water tank pilot going again.

A friend talked me through it.

That might sound like a small thing.

But when you're thousands of kilometres from home, small things can feel very big.

And suddenly, gratitude isn't abstract anymore.

It's a person answering the phone.

Someone saying, "I've got you."

Someone taking the time to help.

Someone checking in.

Sometimes the good we're looking for isn't something we accomplish ourselves.

Sometimes it's the people God places along our path.

I also came home reminded of another kind of freedom

Throughout the trip, I was able to continue working from wherever I was.

My business didn't have to stop simply because I was travelling.

And the wellness products I use helped fuel me while I was on the road.

That experience gave me another reason to be grateful.

Not because everything was easy.

It wasn't.

But because I'd created something that gave me flexibility.

I could travel.

I could explore.

I could work.

I could continue building.

And I could come home with a whole collection of experiences that wouldn't have happened if I'd waited for everything to be perfectly convenient.

What are you looking at?

I think this is where gratitude becomes more than a Thursday social-media theme.

It's a way of looking at life.

Because two people can experience the same difficult situation and notice completely different things.

One person sees:

"Everything is going wrong."

Another might notice:

"This is frustrating—but I'm safe."

"This wasn't what I planned—but I'm learning something."

"I need help—and someone is willing to help me."

"This is inconvenient—but look where I am."

"The plan changed—but maybe there's something here I wouldn't have experienced otherwise."

The circumstances haven't magically changed.

The attention has.

And what we repeatedly give our attention to tends to become what we notice more.

That doesn't mean ignoring problems.

It means making room for the whole picture.

Gratitude isn't denial

I want to be clear about something.

Choosing gratitude doesn't mean putting a positive spin on everything.

There are hard things in life.

There are losses that hurt.

There are disappointments that deserve to be felt.

There are situations that need to be changed—not simply accepted.

Gratitude doesn't require us to pretend otherwise.

For me, gratitude has become more about asking:

"What else is true?"

Yes, the car is having trouble.

What else is true?

I'm close to home.

Yes, I locked my keys in the car.

What else is true?

I'm at the ocean with my dog.

Yes, something didn't go according to plan.

What else is true?

Maybe there is still something beautiful happening here.

That little question can change the way we move through a difficult moment.

Look for the good

My summer wasn't perfect.

There were long driving days.

There were unexpected expenses.

There were problems to solve.

There were plans that changed.

There were moments when I was tired, frustrated or unsure.

But there were also sunsets.

Sunrises.

Wildlife I'd never seen in person.

Beautiful beaches and lakes.

Unexpected conversations.

New friendships.

Dreams checked off my list.

Laughter.

Adventure.

Growth.

And so many moments where I thought:

I'm really glad I said yes to this.

That's the thing about life.

The good and the hard can exist in the same day.

Sometimes in the same hour.

Sometimes in the same moment.

We don't have to choose one and deny the other.

We can acknowledge what's hard and still look for what's good.

What are you choosing to notice?

As I came home, I realized that might be one of the biggest lessons from this entire journey.

I don't want to wait for everything to be perfect before I appreciate my life.

I don't want to miss what's happening because I'm too focused on what didn't happen.

I don't want to spend so much time worrying about the next problem that I overlook the blessing sitting right in front of me.

So maybe today, instead of asking whether everything is going according to plan, ask something different:

What is still good?

Who showed up for you?

What worked?

What did you learn?

What made you smile?

What beauty did you almost miss?

What are you grateful for that you might have overlooked?

Because sometimes the situation doesn't need to change before we can find something good within it.

Sometimes we just need to look up and notice.

And maybe that's what living wisely is really about:

Not expecting life to be perfect.

Not pretending the hard things aren't hard.

But keeping our eyes open enough to see the good that is still there.

Look for the good.

Notice what's working.

Be grateful for who shows up.

And keep living. 🌿

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