We Don’t Always Need Lemonade

Sometimes we need a friend, significant other, therapist, or family member to remind us of something we already know. This post is dedicated to a very dear friend of mine who knew exactly what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. Logically we all know that life does not always go according to our plan. In fact, the majority of time it throws us curve balls that can be either pleasant or unfortunate and sometimes even both simultaneously. So what happens when we have an idea of how things will play out and then it doesn’t work out that way? If things happily work out better than we hoped or imagined we will most likely go with the flow without giving the matter much more thought. The same cannot be said for when things don’t go as we hoped and we’re left feeling worse.

When life throws you lemons I don't think you need to jump up and make lemonade. Instead process what’s happening and let yourself grieve. Grieving doesn't just happen when someone dies. In fact it happens much more often than that. It happens every time we're faced with an upset where life doesn’t go according to our personal plan. Grieving might entail sadness, anger, avoidance, and/or denial. Everyone needs a chance to grieve the loss of the ideal. Once you’ve allowed yourself to grieve you can move forward and accept the way things are. During this process try not to be too hard on yourself, it’s not your fault that things don’t always go according to your plan.