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7/14/2025
“Sorry, Sir. You’re not on this flight”.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I sat in frustration as my son ran circles around me with not a care in the world.
We already missed a connection and, according to the flight agent, had been re-booked for the next available flight.
But apparently something fell through the cracks, as they often do.
We are supposed to be home tonight. It’s already been a long 24hrs. The stress of travel began to take over.
Instead of pinning my frustration on the airport employees, I quietly walked away.
Finally, I caught up to my son and told him “Hey bud, sorry but we aren’t gonna be getting home tonight. We are gonna stay a night in Denver.”
“Wait…. Does this mean we get to spend the night in another hotel??!!”
He couldn’t contain his excitement.
I chuckled. “Yep… another hotel!”, I replied.
For me, chaos. For him, adventure.
Opportunities present themselves when we choose to see them.
Suddenly I went from wanting to put the airport in a chokehold, to laughing with my son on the way to the hotel.
The situation was the same.
We still had to wait.
Someone still made a mistake.
And there still wasn’t a spot for us on the plane we were supposed to be on.
But the way we (my son) decided to look at it changed.
We were no longer the unlucky passengers kicked aside, but we get to stay in a hotel.
The Burnt Toast Theory
As we traveled to a nearby hotel, I sent my wife a text to give her an update.
“The Burnt Toast Theory”, she replied (with no context).
Never heard of it.
Apparently, minor setbacks might actually protect you. Burn your toast, leave 2 minutes later, avoid the car crash you’ll never know about.
Unprovable? Sure.
But here’s what I know: You can choose to see setbacks as protection or punishment.
One keeps you sane. The other makes you miserable.
You Have a Choice
The reality is, in every scenario, you have a choice.
You can choose to see it as an opportunity. It’s either happening to you or for you.
The reality for me was that we had to get on a different plane.
The choice was to let it ruin our day or not.
I could have traveled home angrily and told everyone about the shit I had to deal with at the airport, or I could get home and talk about how fun it was to get an extra night in Denver with my son.
It was my choice.
Sure, maybe the burnt toast was involved, or maybe it wasn’t. But regardless, there was an opportunity at hand and we could choose to take it or not.
What Happens When We Lose Control?
As goes life… Shit often goes sideways. We like to be in control, but what happens when we lose control and things don’t go our way?
Looking at challenges as opportunities is a skillset.
All this time you’ve been asking yourself the wrong questions:
- Why did this happen to me?
- How come nothing goes the way I planned?
- Who’s fault is this?
But you should be asking yourself better questions:
- What good can come from this?
- What opportunity do I have now?
- How do I learn from this?
Same situation. Different mental state.
Reshaping how you see it and the questions you ask yourself allows you to remain in control.
Because challenges are never going away. Personally or professionally.
Good things don’t come to people who wait. Good things come to people who persevere.
Expect the Unexpected.
And remember, everything is an adventure if you choose to see it as so.
Until next time,
Dallen “Burnt Toast” Reber
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