5 steps to deal with life’s lemons

   Before I could make sense of metaphors and deep philosophical thoughts, I remember checking my refrigerator for life’s famous lemons. Because if the thought ‘When life gives you lemons’ was true indeed, it would be sitting somewhere in the kitchen. But each time I failed to hunt those free gifts, it was essential to accept it stood for something else. 

   These famous lemons which life seems to distribute generously to everyone, everywhere stand for the vast load of problems. And each one of us can vouch for the fact that life does distribute them freely. Before you can even understand or think, life hand delivers them to your doorstep. And no form of feedback, negotiation or even begging works in this case because life has a strict agenda of just handing them out to every single individual on the planet. Must say, life is pretty generous when it comes to these bitter-sour freebies. For a product you never ordered and for an unnecessary item that lands on your doorstep, you have no other option but to deal with it.

 For those of you who do not know about these lemons, they stand for all the challenges and troubles thrown at us. As lemons are combination of sour, bitter and tangy flavors that make us wink, they are forced to represent this unfavorable metaphor. They symbolize sour tastes that are interesting in slight quantities but totally undesirable when added in excess.

 There are many fancy phrases that suggest ways to deal with them. Either make lemonade or order some tequila and salt. Either be responsible or go wild. Either use them for your benefit or sit and complain for days on end. Whatever way you choose, there is no escape path spelled out in bold letters. Life is determined to deliver problems and challenges along your path, no matter how much you avoid it or how well you hide yourself. It will deliver its free lemons and head to the next house, before you even check the package. 

  So, if there is no way to avoid these freebies, why don’t we accept them with open hands and think of a way out? Rather than hunting for a customer care number to register our complaints, why don’t we find ways to handle them all by ourselves?

  Thanks to this deep thinking, I am curious to devise some steps. Though I would love to stop the inflow of free lemons, I can do nothing about it. Yet, I can definitely ponder about few actions to deal with them. Stay with me as I walk from one step to the other in an attempt to do something about these sour factors available in excess.

 Adding an interesting exercise to the series, this particular listicle is a flowchart to enjoy the undesirable freebies. Why complain when life wants to give us something free of cost? Though we may not like it or want it, we don’t really have any choice, do we?

  This is my idea from step 1 to step 5. Do share your way of handling life’s lemons. Do you throw them yards away from your house or do you welcome them in for your advantage?

Step 1: Bring them to the table- Acceptance is the first step, after all

Agreed, none of us like problems. But is there any way to stop it? Rather than complaining, we can accept it and bring those free lemons to the table. Denial is the most dangerous habit that leads to nothing but disappointment. Accept the fact that you are no different. Accept the fact that we cannot be immune to challenges and finally accept it problems make us a better version of ourselves. They may seem undesirable, but they are the only key to development. If life chooses you as the lucky recipient of lemons (or in this case, the unlucky one), there is nothing wrong about it. Do not curse your stars, planets, moon and everything in the universe because none of them can take it back. Instead accept it and hunt a solution as soon as possible. Cut the melodrama of "Why me?" and get to the phrase "Ok fine, it's me."

Step 2: Hunt for a good recipe- find the solution

  Bring out your cookbooks or in today’s times - browse through your favorite food blogs. Decide what do want to do with those free lemons. Lemonade, lemon cheese cake, lemon pickle, lemon pie, tangy cocktail or mocktail – the options are endless. To translate to into our metaphor, find solutions to your problems. Seek advice, opinions and ideas. Find the way to handle these troubles without unnecessary stress. Think with a cool head and seek solutions to prevent disappointment. Nothing is easy, but neither is it impossible. Every solution will demand efforts, hard work, dedication and pain. What recipe you decide and what you wish to do with it is your way of life. No one can stop you from your path, at the same time no one can take away your problems. Your recipe needs your inputs, just as your challenge needs your contribution.

Step 3- Put on the apron- act on the problem

  You brought the lemons in, you found the recipe, now is the time to work on it. Get to the task and act immediately. Eliminate the challenges as much as you can with whatever resources you have. It is definitely easier said than done. Working on our problem may not be as simple as working on a recipe, but this is our overthinking mind with its usual procrastination. Make the lemonade, bake that difficult pie, try your hands on a delicious lemon pickle. In short - invest efforts, make mistakes, get hurt, fall down, stand, and do it again- a bit improved, the next time. We are not perfect or capable enough to handle our problems in a flawless way. But, we are definitely capable to make efforts for ‘n’ number of times as needed.

Step 4- Savor the preparation – celebrate your efforts

Take some time to unwind. Relax after the big challenge. Savor the dish for all your inputs. You deserve a pat on the back for standing strong and reaching so far. It is said we must not take pride in our own achievements for the possibility of being too much in our heads. But, we must pause for a while and congratulate our strong mind. It deserves a little love, affection and recognition. You may have solved the challenge or failed to do so, but in either case, the ability to handle things is much important.

Step 5- Save the recipe- store the lessons

If you enjoyed the lemon pie- do remember to save the recipe. It will help the next time, when life gives you yet another batch of lemons. Remember the way you dealt with your troubles. Preserve your strength, confidence and ability to handle it well. When a similar situation arises in the future, you must be able to erase it quickly. And if a different circumstance raises its ugly head, you can still borrow your inner trust and faith.

  There is no foolproof way to handle problems. There is no way to predict their arrival. It is impossible to make sense of this uncertainty, but we can only prepare ourselves to deal much better. When life is giving lemons, why not enjoy the opportunity and turn it to our advantage. Why not learn, progress, turn stronger and happier than we are today?

 How do you handle the free package? 

Do you hunt for a recipe or a toll-free complaint number? 

Do you turn it into pies or dump it into trash? 

Do you exhibit excitement for trying a new recipe or throw them away in anger? 

Whatever you do, do share your ideas with others. A little learning, a little sharing, and a little pondering will help “When life gives us lemons!”