Stories, Grumbles, and a Lovely Hot Walk: A Game of Fortunately, Unfortunately

Photo by Girl with red hat on Unsplash

Have you ever played the storytelling game Fortunately, Unfortunately? The players go back and forth, adding a bit to the story. Each time it’s a different player’s turn, their bit has to start with “fortunately” or “unfortunately” – the opposite of whichever was used most recently – in order to advance the story.

Fortunately for hungry Peter, the grocery store was only two blocks away.

Unfortunately, when he arrived, he realized he had forgotten his wallet.

Fortunately, it was free-samples day.

Unfortunately, all of the free samples were gone by the time he arrived.

Fortunately, Peter ran into his best friend who offered to spot Peter his grocery bill.

And on and on the game continues for as long as the players want.

You can also use the game to help you maintain a positive mindset in tough times without having to pretend like the tough things weren’t tough. I’m a firm believer in acknowledging the negative aspects of a situation rather than pretending that they don’t exist or that they happen for a reason. No, sometimes crappy things happen, and it’s crappy when they happen. It’s for us as humans to find some silver lining or some lesson that can be taken from the situation if we so choose.

Telling a tale by using the Fortunately, Unfortunately game framework is a way to healthily acknowledge the downside while finding the upside.

Photo by Jason Anderson on Unsplash

Last week, I was on bedrest for two days because of back problems – some sort of pinched nerve. Whatever it was, it was no fun. By the end of the second day, I was starting to get stir-crazy, lamenting my lack of mobility, my lack of freedom, my lack of ability to simply sit on a couch comfortably (which I haven’t been able to do for years now). All the grumbles were bubbling.

It’s also been hot this summer. Hot and dry. Too hot to want to get outside and do much of anything. Being bedridden, even for a short time, will make you want to brave the heat just to get out of bed and do anything at all. That’s right, it’s the old case of we don’t care about the things we have until we can’t have them.

I don’t want to go outside. It’s too hot.

Force yourself to lie in bed for a couple of days, denied of the opportunity to go out, and the thoughts suddenly become, oh, it’s not all that bad. Not if it’s early or if it’s in short spurts.

Photo by The Walkist

That was me. So, on Saturday morning, once my back was feeling well enough, Juanita and I went to the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail downtown and walked our favorite 4-mile stretch. I could go on about how much I enjoy urban trails, but now’s not the time. If you want my take, check out this urban trails article I published a few months ago. The point here is that if I hadn’t have been on bedrest earlier in the week, I likely wouldn’t have had the urge to go walk the trail, and we ended up having a lovely time – even with how hot and dry it’s been. We hit the trail early enough that our walking was done while the temperatures were in the low-to-mid 90s rather than the 100s that the temperatures eventually rose to later in the day.

I didn’t piece any of this together until Sunday afternoon when I was getting ready to vent about how bored I had been while lying on my back for two days. Then it hit me, I’m pretty fortunate to be in a circumstance in which I can take the time for bedrest when it’s truly needed. Yes, my back issues stink, but there are plenty of folks with bad backs who don’t have the ability to take time off to get the proper rest.

So here’s that same story told in the style of Fortunately, Unfortunately.

Unfortunately, my back problems flared up. Fortunately, I was able to take time off to rest. Unfortunately, rest became very boring. Fortunately, the boredom reminded me how great going outside is. Unfortunately, this summer has been very hot and dry. Fortunately, going out in the morning allowed me to avoid the excessive heat.

Now it’s your turn. Post in the comments and tell me a Fortunately, Unfortunately story from your own lived experience. Then, tell me how the exercise made you feel. Do you have a different perspective on the experience than you did before playing?

I can’t wait to read the responses!