Brian,

My wife is the new HR manager at her company and was having to replace 5 people in a unit that had 6 people total.  All the managers were panicking.  She sent out her message to all the managers explaining that she had 4 new candidates to fill some of the spots and ended her message with this new mantra that I thought you would like.  It's below:

Unexpected challenges = undiscovered opportunities for improvement.

Great message and a great attitude from someone who understands leadership. For many people unexpected challenges trigger complaining, panic, and fear of the worst.

True leaders see those unexpected challenges as an opportunity for growth, positive change and improvement. They embrace the suck and look for the good in the situation. As a result they come through the challenge better off for the experience.

What about you? How do you deal with unexpected challenges in the workplace? What about in your life?