There was a track meet we had in high school and I remember the day before freaking out to my teammates that it was going to rain, which in my eyes, would ruin the entire meet. The weather forecast said there was an 75% chance of rain. And I remember my teammate saying, “well there’s a 25% chance it won’t rain!” And I remember thinking that her perspective was one way to look at it, but that regardless, it was still going to rain.
The next day ending up being a beautiful day. It didn’t rain at all. My teammate was right. There was a 25% chance that it wouldn’t rain, and by holding onto that small piece of hope, the rain subsided. And I don’t think I even appreciated my teammates perspective until later on in life, when I learned that looking at the bright side of things, could be beneficial.
Right now in my life, it pays a lot to look at that 25% and see the positive. It pays a lot to have hope in that 25%. With all of the uncertainty around me, and with a lot of bumps in the road coming towards me and my family, looking at that 25% is critical to remind myself that everything will be okay.
There is an 75% chance it might rain in my life, or in your life. But there is a 25% chance that it won’t (or whatever percentage you want to use). A lot of times it feels like there is no hope that things will go right and that the bad things we are anticipating are more likely to happen. But if we hold onto that hope that things can go right, they are more likely to happen. Of course, we cannot control what the universe has planned for us, but when we believe that nothing good will ever happen to us, it won’t, and we will be less able to see the good in the good things that actually come to us.
Take time to seek out the 25% in your life. What can go right? Focus on that rather than the fact that it might rain. Focus on the fact that even though there is a high percentage of rain, peaks of sunlight will come through. Peaks of sunlight will come to remind you that it is worth it to battle through the storm.
And even on those days that the rain does come, and it feels like it may never stop, know that those moments of rain will make you stronger, that you will grow and learn and mold into your best self.
Today, I am holding on to the 25% that my teammate held onto that the sun will come out, and that things will be okay.
So to my teammate, thank you for helping to shift my perspective. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, I am learning now how important it is to see the light, even in the dark.
It may not happen today, it may not happen tomorrow, but when you find that light, oh it will be so powerful for your life and so very worth it.
Xo,