In every seemingly negative situation, there is always an opportunity. When I look back as some of the most difficult times in my life, with the advantage of retrospect, I can see how many of these moments led to amazing things. If I had not ended the rocky relationship I had with my boyfriend, I never would have met my husband. The job I was so sad about losing led to me finding an even better career opportunity. The child I worked with that made me crazy taught me so much about how to deal effectively with difficult behavior. And while I would never wish for those moments our family has endured dealing with sicknesses and deaths, those crisis times have really drawn us together as a family and refocused us to appreciate the things in life that really matter.
But in the moment, it’s so easy to get caught up in the negative, and make yourself miserable. It sometimes seems like there is no choice but to feel terrible when terrible things happen.
But there is a choice. And the ability to “flip” a bad situation to find the gift within it is really a skill.
Here’s a worksheet I created to introduce children to this idea. Please feel free to use it to help our kids develop the kind of mindset that will see them through the difficult times in their lives.
Click here for a PDF version of this worksheet: Flip It
Rebecca's Restitution Resource 