When things don’t go to plan, we like to tell ourselves that everything happens for a reason.

Whether it be missing out on that golden job opportunity, a relationship ending or being outbid on the house of your dreams, we search for the silver lining of a dark cloud, and try to find something positive in the negative… no matter how hard it may be.

And so, when life is feeling a little stormy, it can be uplifting to read about other people’s experiences and how things do sometimes work out for the best. Especially when you least expect it.

This was the theme of an uplifting post from Girlboss recently, who asked followers to share a time in their lives when a bad situation had unexpectedly led to an even better outcome.

“Tell us about a time where life didn’t go the way you wanted, but it ended up being for the best,” read the post, which had received 194 comments at the time of this article’s publication.

The responses have been flooding in thick and fast and make for inspiring reading. From devastating break-ups and global relocations that turned to disaster, the way so many of these women have powered through and stayed open to the twists and turns of life, only to end up with an even better result is nothing short of inspiring.

To start your week off on a positive note we’ve picked out some of our favourite stories. Not only are they fascinating to read (each one is like a mini novel!) but we love these examples of how sometimes things really do seem to happen for a reason.

When timing is everything 
Jo Hook Solutions says: “I met my first true love when I was 16. We were together and in love and opened our first business together (a fashion label and store) when I was 20. He proposed and I said yes. Shortly after I went on a buying trip to the UK and met someone who I instantly fell in love with. It was the most tortured emotional time of my life! I knew I couldn’t be trusted to marry my first love.

“I came back to Australia and told him. Over months of agony we separated and sold the business. I went to London to live. It was beautiful but it didn’t work out, so I was back in Australia in a year. About a year later I met someone wonderful, ended up married and had my daughter. We separated as friends 13 years after we met. My Dad passed away soon after and my first love came to pay his respects. We saw each other and it was as though no time had passed. The original connection was still there. We soon dated and have been together ever since for 21 years. We married in Paris 15 years ago and my daughter was our attendant. We had grown in so many ways while apart and they made our relationship even more amazing. That separation had to be.”

When life gets put into perspective
Lacie M Powell says: “My husband interviewed for a job in Switzerland that we were dying for him to have. We got all psyched up to go and were sure it would all come together. He didn’t get the job and we were crushed. I mean, MONTHS of grief wondering why it didn’t work out. Fast forward a few more months and my mom suddenly got gravely ill and nearly died. I had to rush to her bedside. 

“She did eventually get better but had to undergo months of recovery. Rushing to her when she first got sick and being back and forth that following year to help her while she got healthy would’ve been nearly impossible had been in another country. At the time, Switzerland was all we could’ve wanted but little did we know what would be in store and that it was all a matter of perspective.”

When a rejection works out for the best
Cath Mandu says: “Didn’t get into my first choice college. Was devastated. Got into a different college and had the time of my life. Met my best friends. Met my partner. Everything is wonderful. The name and reputation of a university can be blinding but it’s all about the education and experience you get at the end of the day.”

When difficult situations help you learn who you are 
Vani Lugo says: “A year and a half ago, I gave up a life I thought was great. I was at the top of my career but in actuality it was slowly killing me and my mental health, so much so that I contemplated suicide. That same year I moved overseas to pursue an opportunity that I thought would be long term and life changing. The opportunity ended abruptly and was short lived but totally worth it and in retrospect, it was truly life changing but not in the way I had imagined.

“Through it all, I thought about myself and what I need to be happy. I learned about who I am not. I learned my value and that I am not willing to settle or to usurp others values as my own. Now I’m in a job I love. My mental health is on track and I’m about to embark on an adventure I never expected in my life in 2020, motherhood as a badass career woman!”

When living with adversity makes you stronger
Coloured in Flour says: “When I was diagnosed with my chronic illness coeliac disease, my life became significantly more difficult and devastating. I dealt with and still continue to deal with a lot of major life struggles with my medical condition. My life did not go the way I wanted it to. I certainly did not ask for this disease. Having this disease takes all the colour and happiness from my world… yet, I often find that when life doesn’t go the way you want it to and when you run into devastating circumstances and obstacles, it ultimately pushes you closer towards your purpose. And ultimately, it took me years, but I found a way to bring colour and happiness back into my world through baking which has become my biggest focus and purpose in life, not my disease.”

When something better is around the corner
Carlen Francesca says: “I spent six months applying for jobs with no responses, then got my first interview at a company that I thought would be a decent job, but wasn’t anything I felt passionate about. I prepared so hard for it, and then didn’t get it. I cried! I thought ‘I can’t go another six months’. A week later I got an interview at a company that was exactly the industry I studied for and got offered the job the same day. Sometimes things we want don’t work out because something better is just round the corner!”

For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch.

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