"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" It sounds so simple, doesn't it? I mean, who doesn't like the idea of turning their problems into a sweet and refreshing summer drink? As pleasant as this saying is, though, I feel like there are a couple problems with it. Firstly, this makes it sound like everyone is given the same lemons. We should all be able to use the same amount of sugar and water in order to turn the situation around. Secondly, this saying guarantees a great outcome. It does not say "When life gives you lemons, try to make some lemonade and hope that it doesn't give you food poisoning." Of course not. We want to focus on the positive, and that's all great. Let's get real for a little bit, though. I am sure that when we have all been handed our proverbial lemons, our first instinct is to throw them back at life and demand some chocolate instead. This initial feeling can come in many forms. In my own life, I have seen it in the forms such as denial, self-pity, sadness, and just plain anger. The hardest part for me is moving past that feeling. It can be so easy to sit there and hope that your challenges will go away. I can say from experience that wishing doesn't get you very far. The first real step comes in acknowledging that there is work that needs to be done. After all, you would much rather make lemonade with the lemons right away rather than letting them sit there and rot, right? Right.
So, what next? Going along with my realistic approach, I will take you through a potential recipe, if you will, of a way to approach some of life's problems. First step: figure out your plan, including what you may need. This doesn't mean that everything will go according to plan, but it may help you wrap your mind around what you are in for. As an example from my life, I have started my journey of achieving my goal weight by plotting out what I will need to do (an exercise plan, food diary, etc.). Sure, I have had setbacks, but I feel much more comfortable knowing that I have a plan to turn to when I feel like I may be losing control. Second step: experiment. As someone who loves to calculate things, I know this can be daunting. You may try things and figure out that they don't work. This does not mean you should give up. Just because something in your plan failed does not mean that you have failed. You must keep an open mind and be ready to adjust things as necessary. As long as you keep your eyes on the ultimate goal, you will be able to figure out what things need to be adjusted. Third step: allow for time. Another problem with the saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" is that making lemonade takes all of fifteen minutes (thirty, if you have a five year old "helping" you). Most of our problems in life take a lot longer than that to solve. Be patient with yourself and others. The key here is that you are working to solve them. No matter how slowly you go, you are always ahead of the people who don't do anything about them. Fourth and final step: celebrate (small) victories. You do not need to wait until the final goal is achieved to celebrate your success. It can be very motivating sometimes to stop and look at how far you have come. Doing so will make you realize that you can keep going until you do reach the finish line when you can sit back and enjoy your lemonade.
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