Not too long ago, the airline I was flying on lost my luggage. It was one of the worst weeks for it to happen because I had 4 straight days of travel with a keynote speech on each day.
I waited and waited at baggage claim. Made a few friends but my luggage never appeared. Once reality finally defeated me and my hope sunk into frustration, I joined my new compadres at the ‘lost luggage’ counter. It appeared that indeed I was going to be wearing one suit for 4 days.
While waiting in line at the counter my jaw dropped as I heard yelling coming from the couple at the head of the line. A woman was crying and the man next to her was nearly being held back by a security officer who has just entered the room.
I thought to myself, “Geez, calm down. Not worth going to jail over lost luggage.”
Well, come to find out, my new suits and shoes had nothing on their lost luggage – the luggage the airline lost was their D-O-G!
Moral of the story — it could always be worse. Change your perspective to help change your outcome. The lens at which you see your situation is only that – a lens. So modify your perspective to change how you see things.
My luggage? The airline found my luggage that very next morning and delivered it to me at the conference.
The dog? The dog was finally found too. He earned some extra frequent flier miles on that trip.
Remind yourself that so much about life is also perspective. When you assume it is the worst, change your paradigm. Your seemingly tragic situation might actually help you count blessings.
Dr. Kevin Snyder is a professional speaker and author with a passion for helping others find their own and inspire it in others. He’s presented over 1,150 leadership keynotes and workshops in all 50 states and numerous countries. Kevin’s also a coach for aspiring speakers and authors. He’s never delivered pizzas but he does currently live on a sailboat – Why Knot!