When things don’t go as planned, we can pout or we can accept it and move on.

In the long run, the second option is generally healthier. That’s partly why so many people subscribe to the theory that “everything happens for a reason.”

But within this mindset, there’s a trap that can be difficult to avoid.

There’s a difference between embracing reality and lying to ourselves about what we really wanted.

As soon as something goes wrong, it’s tempting to convince ourselves that we never really wanted what we were pursuing anyways. It helps with the pain of rejection.

But when we do this, we miss out on the opportunity to grow.

I personally find it more useful to accept that we missed out on what we thought we wanted, reflect on why that was, and then turn our attention to embracing the positive aspects of our new reality.

-Brandon