It’s been almost one whole year since my last blog post. And WOW. What a year?! 2020, the year where life gave you lemons… and A LOT of them. In my last post I spoke about COVID-19 – the chaos it was starting to cause around the world including all the uncertainty and anxiety that goes with it. Because of the mental challenge we were all facing, I shared an amazing mindset technique I learnt a couple of years back – The Green and Purple Method which I was told by internationally-renowned businesswoman Gillian Franklin during a mentoring session. You can read all about it here.
The year that was…
Now we’re halfway through February 2021 and here I am writing about it again. Over the last 12 months I’ve been working with young people, mostly Zoomers (A.K.A Gen Zs) in various capacities incl. coaching, online workshops and of course through my new social enterprise Happow. No matter who I spoke to, everybody had experienced some form of burnout last year. Every. single. person. Understandably, none of us were immune to the trials and tribulations 2020 threw our way. So it’s only natural that this year we all hope and pray that things will run more smoothly. I live in a beautiful city called Melbourne and as I write this post, I am currently in lockdown for the third time since the pandemic began. So it’s fair to say 2021 isn’t quite going the way I’d like it to. However, here’s the good news…
Despite all the uncertainty around me, I am choosing to remain positive. I do not in any way know what the future holds, but there is something I am 100% sure about and that is the way I choose to approach and react to a situation – any given challenge. Each and every one of us are dealt ‘lemons’ (A.K.A. challenges we want to avoid with dear life). These ‘sour’ situations are at times completely out of our hands, yet we often beat ourselves up about it like we’re the ones who brought it on. This devastates me because I truly believe we all have the ability to turn life’s lemons into lemonade.
So here are my suggestions to help you get started. Let’s make some lemonade!
My 4 step guide to help you turn life’s lemons into lemonade:
Step 1 – Actually Look At The Lemon
Don’t put your head in the sand and pretend the lemon isn’t in front of your eyes. Recognise it for what it is. Make peace with it and acknowledge the first sign of change only happens when you accept the circumstance for what it is. Be open to self-reflection. This will help you come to terms with the challenge at hand.
Take some time to journal all the feels. Ask yourself these questions: What happened? How does it make me feel? Is there anything I can do about it? And if you read my blog post from last year titled, ‘Green or Purple, The Choice Is Yours‘, use those prompts as extra motivation too.
Step 2 – Become A Sweet Tooth
No! I do not mean go to your pantry or freezer and grab anything that’s chocolate infused, haha… unless you want to. Who am I to judge? Right! By you becoming a sweet tooth, I’m actually referring to the various ways you can sweeten the lemon, even just a tad.
So once you acknowledge the lemon is in existence, ask yourself these questions: How can I reframe this challenging situation at hand? Is there any action I can take to smooth out this situation or is it out of my hands? What’s one thing I can do right now to make myself feel better and get motivated to carry one with courage? What’s at least one positive thing that has come out of this situation?
Step 3 – Don’t be Afraid, Drink Some Lemonade
As we know lemonade is sweet and tasty. It’s super easy to drink because of the sugar it contains. So when you find yourself on any given day getting consumed by the sour lemon, take a moment to stop and reflect. Why not put things into perspective? Reframe the situation at hand. Choose positivity! Choose the sweet life. See the glass as half full instead of half empty. It’s a decision we all get to make each day. We’re all dealt with stuff we don’t like. We may not have chosen it, but hey, we most certainly have the power to change the way we respond to it. So instead of eating a sour lemon (nobody got time or the taste buds for that!), decide to drink lemonade instead. It’s tastier, more digestible and gives you the courage, motivation and energy to carry on.
Step 4 – Make Lemonade For Others
Life is so much better when we journey with others. Notice other people around you consumed by life’s lemons? Give them a helping hand. Support them by checking in and asking how they’re feeling. If they’re going through a rough patch, tell them they’re not alone, that you’re right there, along with some fantastic mental health support services like Beyond Blue, Lifeline, Kids Helpline and Headspace. Share your journey with them. Open up about how you too were able to become a sweet tooth. Lead by example. By you doing so, it will not only lift your cup and make your day, week or year, it just may change their life forever too!
No matter what lemons life throws at us, I truly believe we’re capable of much more than just surviving them. Life’s lemons challenge us to think outside the box, pivot, re-evaluate our lives and become wiser, stronger and more courageous than we ever even thought possible. Go us! #WeGotThis
Until next time, stay safe, stay magical,
