Sometimes all I can do is chuckle at life’s way of setting me back a few paces — usually right after I’ve finished patting myself on the back about something.

Some of the setbacks we can anticipate, others catch us off guard. Maybe it’s nothing more than a schedule that’s been thrown off for the afternoon, or perhaps it’s as big as a hefty medical bill that straggles in just when you thought they were done. Maybe it’s a job loss, or perhaps it’s something during a job search that makes you feel like you’ve hit a snag in your progress, your momentum.

A marriage might be crumbling before your eyes. Maybe a hit and run left you with a damaged car to fix. Maybe you’re caring for people you didn’t plan on looking after, or maybe you’re simply in the middle of the biggest life transition you’ve experienced to-date, and you wonder if you’re prepared for it.

Life will always throw us curve balls, and I’m a big believer in the fact that they’re there because they contain lessons that we’re supposed to learn in that moment — or they shine a light on a path that we’re supposed on be on instead of the one we’ve been traveling down.

What to do? First, breathe. Second, realize it will only get the better of you if you let it. Third, be open. Consider why you’ve lost ground, and ponder what lessons exist in a situation that may appear to be nothing more than aggravating on the surface.

Tonight I am thankful for those learning opportunities that exist when we seek them out, but also for the ones which find us. What has been a blessing in disguise in your life?