I think you’re going to love this because I loved hearing it, and I wanted to share it with you.

 

A man in a class I attend shared a story with us.

 

He had a coach who taught him that whenever something challenging happened, he should say:

 

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I can’t wait to see the good that comes out of this.”

 

One day, he was at the theater with his girlfriend.

 

When they came out to his car, he discovered that he had received a parking ticket.

 

He immediately said, loudly:

 

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I can’t wait to see the good that comes out of this!”

 

His girlfriend looked at him, startled.

 

“You’re weird,” she said.

 

And then she broke up with him.

 

He paused for a moment and said:

 

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I can’t wait to see the good that comes out of this.”

 

A few months later, he met another woman.

 

She was standing beside him when he told us this story.

 

They had been together for years, and they shared the same attitude toward life: enjoy it, embrace it, and look for the best in whatever happens.

 

He said that if he hadn’t gotten that ticket, and if he hadn’t said those words in front of his old girlfriend, he might never have ended up with the woman he was with now.

 

And he was thoroughly enjoying his life.

 

I love that story.

 

So much so that I started using the phrase this week with my clients.

 

I had one client who quit his job.

Another got fired.

Another got into a car accident.

And another went on a date that went horribly.

 

I told each of them the same thing:

 

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I can’t wait to see the good that comes out of this.”

 

And then I watched.

 

What good came out of it?

 

The client who got into the accident was prompted to reach out to me because of the accident.

We’re now working together, and he finally has the help he needs.

 

The client who got fired became focused on finding a job that better suits his skills. He had been complacent in his old job anyway, and getting fired gave him the push he probably wouldn’t have given himself.

 

The client who quit his job got that out of the way so he could begin looking for work he actually loves. And, perhaps more importantly, he saw a pattern in himself that he needed to recognize.

 

And the client whose date went horribly was able to put his full attention on a house he was buying. In doing so, he discovered something substantial and decided not to move forward with the purchase.

 

Four things that initially looked like problems.

 

Four opportunities for something better.

 

And there was another benefit.

 

I used this phrase all week myself.

 

And I noticed that I used my time much more productively—and, more importantly, much more enjoyably.

When I said,

 

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I can’t wait to see the good that comes out of this,”

 

I stopped holding on to whatever had just happened.

 

I didn’t have to figure it all out.

 

I didn’t have to immediately understand why it happened.

 

I simply allowed myself to trust that there was something good that could come from it.

 

And that allowed me to move on to the next thing.

 

I was calmer.

I was more present.

And, quite frankly, I was a lot more enjoyable to be around.

 

Maybe this is something you can use too.

 

I know there are a lot of things happening in the world right now that can leave us frustrated, angry, afraid, or overwhelmed.

 

Wars.

Wildfires.

Political division.

Loss.

Uncertainty.

You name it.

 

And I’m not suggesting that we pretend bad things are good.

 

That’s not the point.

 

The point is that worrying about what has already happened doesn’t change what happened.

 

And it certainly doesn’t help us respond to it well.

 

So perhaps, when something happens that you don’t understand, you can take a breath and say:

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I can’t wait to see the good that comes out of this.”

 

It doesn’t make us cold.

It doesn’t mean we don’t care.

 

In fact, I think it can help us care more effectively.

 

Because when we stop getting consumed by what is wrong, we have more energy to become part of the solution.

 

We can ask:

 

What can I learn from this?

What opportunity is here that I can’t see yet?

What is this situation trying to show me?

How can I use this instead of allowing it to use me?

 

We don’t always get to choose what happens to us.

 

But we do get to choose what we do with what happens.

 

And sometimes the thing we think is the worst thing that could have happened turns out to be the thing that opens the door to something we never could have imagined.

 

So the next time life throws you a parking ticket, a bad date, a lost job, a broken relationship, or something much bigger…

 

Try it.

 

Oh boy.

Oh boy.

Oh boy.

I can’t wait to see the good that comes out of this.

 

Find the good in things.

 

And I promise you…

 

the good will find you.

 

Wishing you all good,

 

Bert