burnt toast theory

Etymology
Possibly first used in a video posted April 4, 2023 to Instagram by @latenightepiphanies_, who explained: "it's basically the theory that if you burn your toast in the morning (something challenging happens), the time you spend making another toast may have saved you from a car accident. everything happens for a reason." The concept was popularized on TikTok around January 2024.

Proper noun

 * 1)  The mindset that a seemingly negative event in a person's life could have actually prevented something even worse from occurring.