You've got to find the silver linings.

But you've also got to understand that,

sometimes,

silver linings look a lot like

...failure.

A job loss.

A minor car accident.

A botched sales pitch.

A diagnosis.

A bombed speech.

A sh*tty test score.

An unpassed exam.

An application rejection.

A human rejection.

A skip-over for a promotion.

A missed catch in the big game.

All pretty crappy things to experience, some more serious than others, yes, but if they never happened to you

-- if life never happened to you --

you wouldn't be the person you are today.

You'd be happier?

No, I doubt it.

You'd be kinder?

I don't think so.

You'd work harder?

Nope. Don't think that either.

BUT because life has thrown some lemons your way

— and even thanks to them —

you've been forced to figure out how to concoct your own lemonade

….how to make an often sour journey a little bit sweeter.

And I think that's a crucial life skill.

One that, very likely, wouldn't be acquired if all of one's existence was peaches and cream and easy-peasy.

So don't curse the hard, and don't let the hard curse you.

Take not the unpleasant, but it's lesson with you wherever you go, and you'll always be going forward.