Positives From Negatives: The 3 Most Important Things to Know About Negative Experiences

       There is a parable that tells of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE WOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up… shake it off and step up… shake it off and step up!” He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP! It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him… all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. That’s life! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity we can turn a negative into a positive.

       How many times have you thought to yourself what good could come of this and responded, “nothing positive”? Purpose allows you to see that there is often a positive behind the negative experiences we have in life. It helps to bring clarity to the situations and circumstances that occur. Life happens to everyone. Jesus said, “for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). We can never escape the existence or impact of negative situations in totality. However, the perspective we have in facing them will determine if they remain a negative story or become a positive testimony.

            Here are 3 things to aid you in turning a negative into a positive:

PERSPECTIVE:

       They say that necessity is the mother of invention. There are no re-do’s in life but you are likely to repeat the problems you don’t fix. Ask yourself, what tool or piece of advice would have been helpful for you to have before the negative situation occurred? What is the one thing you wish you had or had knowledge of the day before the negative incident? What, if it existed, would have been helpful in preparing you for how to deal with this seemingly negative occurrence? Often times we can’t see the solution until we experience the problem.

PRAYER:

       Pray and figure out what you are supposed to learn from the negative situation. I remember some years ago when I was going through financial hell for about 18 months. One of my main prayers was, “God, please show me what I’m supposed to learn in this season so that I don’t have to repeat this.” Difficult and trying situations can actually reveal many positives about God and ourselves. By seeking and listening for God’s voice in prayer, He can help illuminate key lessons in our tribulation. In negative situations, it is important to humble ourselves in order to gain a helpful perspective.

PREVENTION:

       What measures do you need to put in place in order to prevent this from happening again? If the negative was of a financial nature do you need to get an accountability partner who is well-versed in financial planning? If the negative situation was the result of bad relationship choices, maybe you need greater peer accountability. Without some hedge of protection, you are likely to repeat the same mistakes that led to the difficulty in the first place. Otherwise, the positives you reach can quickly turn negative again. Our mindset and our friend set have tremendous influence in whether we progress or regress.

       “Many times what we perceive as an error or failure is actually a gift. And eventually we find that lessons learned from that discouraging experience prove to be of great worth.” – Richelle E. Goodrich