By Stephanie Francom

There are two kinds of people in this world.

There are people whose last peanut M&M in the bag always has a rotten peanut in it.
And then there are those whose entire neighborhood floods—and they grab a kayak and start paddling down the street in it.

In all honesty, I’ve been both. (Okay, I’ve never actually had my neighborhood flood… but I have jumped and played in a giant mess of leaves we were supposed to be cleaning up. That counts, right?)

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to spend more time in the second group—the one that finds the joy, the fun, the perspective, even in the mess. But how exactly do we do that when life throws curveballs?

We’ve all heard the saying, “Hindsight is everything.” And there’s definitely truth in that. It seems that every time a major challenge hits, I can eventually look back and see a huge blessing hidden in the middle of it.

Did I always see it in the moment?
Nope.
Okay—rarely.

But that’s beginning to change. I’ve learned a new Law of Thought, and I’m determined to live by it.

So what’s this new law?

It’s called The Law of Polarity, and simply put, it means that there is good in every bad.
Even when things look grim, there’s always an equal and opposite blessing—if we’re willing to look for it.

Let me share a personal example.

I grew up in a generation where you got a job, and you kept it—for life. That’s exactly what my dad did. So when I married my husband and he entered the software industry, I had to adjust. In tech, layoffs are a regular occurrence—every 18 to 24 months, it seemed. Some he survived, and some he didn’t. And it stunk for all of us.

His very first layoff was the worst.
We had three young children.
It felt like the floor dropped out from under us.

How would we pay the bills?
How would we feed the family?
How would we keep a roof over our heads?

At the time, it felt like the biggest challenge I’d ever faced.

He was out of work for just over a month, and when the new job came, we were beyond relieved. But now, looking back, I see how many blessings were tucked inside that storm.

We had been trying to build a house for four years while living in his parents’ basement. His job had him commuting two hours a day, which left him exhausted and unable to make progress on the build. Out of desperation, we’d decided to go with a modular home—anything to finally move out of the basement.

Then came the layoff. And wouldn't you know it?
It happened at the perfect time of year to pour a foundation.
With those 30 days off, he and his dad had just enough time to finish the basement prep. The house was delivered soon after, and we finally had our home.

But that’s not all:

• His severance package covered exactly the amount of time he was unemployed.

• His next job paid more than the one he lost.

So yes—the layoff felt like a disaster at the time. But it turned out to be a turning point. That experience helped me understand just how real the Law of Polarity is.

Believing in this law doesn’t mean pretending bad things are good.
It means trusting that good will emerge—even from the mess.
It means training your eyes to look for the rainbow while it’s still raining.

So I choose to be someone who finds the silver linings. The rainbows. The joy in the mess.

And honestly… who wants to dwell on a rotten peanut anyway? 😉

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