As has been said in some other recent threads, a lot of the "worst things ever" in my past turned out to be very necessary parts of a much bigger picture that I couldn't fully comprehend at the time - a bigger picture that not only worked out for the better but could not have come to fruition had that "bad event" not happened.
As a result, these "worst things ever" were really just uncomfortable speed bumps on the way to a much better destination I hadn't thought of yet.
The first requirement to taking the 3rd step is that I be convinced I can no longer try to play God - it just doesn't work. For me, that means I have to be willing to let go of expectations and to consider that what I think is best....or necessary....might be wrong - and in some cases it's turned out to be the opposite of what I really needed or should have wanted.
The extent to which I try to run my own life and control the outcomes of the activities I engage in (i.e. the amount of "playing God" I try to get away with) is usually directly proportional to the amount of irritability, restlessness, frustration, and depression present in my life.