Hi, this is Monique Rhodes. Welcome to the In Your Right Mind podcast, where we’re learning how to be happier by working with our minds. If you'd like to know more about what I teach, come to iintendtobehappy.com. Let's get you started getting happier.
When Nothing Goes Your Way
We all know what it feels like when nothing goes our way.
The job falls through.
The relationship ends.
The timing is off.
The door slams shut—and then another, and another.
We tell ourselves:
I just have bad luck.
And maybe you do.
Maybe things really have been hard.
Maybe the losses have stacked high, and life hasn’t felt fair.
But here’s the deeper truth:
Even in the places where luck has failed you—life hasn’t.
Because even bad luck carries opportunity,
but only if you choose to live like that’s true.
The Two Versions of the Story
There are two ways to tell the story of what happens to you.
One version says:
This is proof that things never work out for me.
The other says:
This is hard, yes—but maybe there’s something here I haven’t seen yet.
One story keeps you stuck.
The other keeps you moving.
And movement is everything.
The Power of Meaning
People don’t rise because life is easy for them.
They rise because they decide to find meaning in the mess.
Because they keep showing up when the world gives them every reason not to.
They don’t wait for luck to save them.
They create a life that turns even bad luck into fuel.
To live like bad luck still carries opportunity doesn’t mean pretending everything’s fine.
It means staying open.
What You Can Build from the Hard Stuff
You stop asking:
Why is this happening to me?
And you start asking:
What can I build from this?
What can I learn from this?
You treat rejection as redirection.
You see delays as preparation.
You let failure sharpen you—not break you.
This mindset doesn’t erase pain.
But it transforms what pain can become.
Your Energy Shifts When You Trust Life
When you believe life is working with you,
even when it looks like it’s working against you,
your entire energy changes.
You begin to look for possibility instead of proof that everything’s falling apart.
This isn’t magical thinking.
It’s resilient thinking.
It’s the decision to orient your life around growth, not grievance.
It’s the faith that something is still possible, even if you don’t know what it is yet.
And yes—
You’ll still get discouraged.
But you’ll know the difference between pausing and resetting and giving up.
You’ll understand that your story isn’t over just because there was a twist in the plot.
Some Wait. Others Begin Anyway.
Some people wait for circumstances to change before they believe they can begin.
Others begin anyway.
Those are the people who build meaningful lives—
Not because life gave them perfect conditions,
But because they showed up anyway.
Live Like This Moment Has Something for You
Ask yourself:
What would I do today if I believed this hard season was part of something greater?
How would I move?
How would I speak to myself?
How would I rise up?
When you act as if your life is unfolding for you,
even your struggles start to shift.
A disappointment becomes a doorway.
A failure becomes a lesson.
A delay becomes divine timing.
Transform Your Relationship to Hardship
No, it doesn’t erase the hardship.
But it transforms your relationship to it.
Living this way doesn’t require optimism you don’t have.
It doesn’t mean denying grief or pretending everything’s okay.
It means choosing—again and again—
To trust that there’s something in this moment that can move you forward.
Some days that choice will be loud and powerful.
Other days, it will be quiet and reluctant.
But it’s a choice worth making.
The Belief That Changes Everything
Your belief that this moment contains value—
is what gives it value.
Some of the most remarkable people you know didn’t get there because of luck.
They got there because they stopped waiting for life to bless them—
And decided to bless their own lives.
By staying open.
By showing up.
By refusing to let misfortune be the final word.
If Today Feels Hard…
If today feels hard—
If the doors aren’t opening—
If your path feels uncertain—
Live anyway.
Move anyway.
Choose anyway.
Live like this moment has something for you—
Because it does.
Even if it’s just the strength that comes from walking through it.
Even if it’s just the wisdom you carry into your next chapter.
Even if it’s the unshakeable belief that:
You are not what has happened to you—
You are what you do with it.
And that, more than anything,
Is what will change your life.
Don’t forget, if you’d like to know more about what I teach, come to iintendtobehappy.com.
As always, be kind, take care, and go gently in the world.
