You know that saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” and that seems to be the go-to phrase when something’s not going how you planned? Well I want to talk about why lemons aren’t so bad, and how you don’t have to make lemonade with them, you just gotta squint your eyes and shake it off.

Now the first thing I want to start off with, when I’m speaking metaphorically about lemons, this does not apply to major life changes such as divorce, death, or trauma. Those are all very serious major life changes that deserve to be acknowledged and processed to help you heal. What I’m referring to is the small things, the tiny inconveniences that happen throughout any given day. Things such as a flat tire, hitting every red light on your way to work, or when you spill coffee all over that brand new outfit you just bought are all lemons we could seriously do without. But the truth is, we need lemons in our lives, here’s why.

Lemons help us grow and learn

I learn best by life experiences. I make mistakes, a lot of them. It’s what you take from those mistakes and the lessons you learn that really matter. Those mistakes and these life lessons are what shape us. Things are going to happen in this life that we have no control over. When they do, we discover how to handle them and learn how strong and capable we are. We learn from our mistakes so we don’t make them again.

Lemons help us see the bigger picture

It’s easy to forget how blessed we are in life. Most of us have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and loved ones surrounding us. Even things such as oxygen in our lungs, the sun shining on our face, and the wind blowing through our hair is taken for granted. Lemons help us take a step back and look at the bigger picture. In the grand scheme of things, when things don’t go exactly as we planned we should still always be grateful for what we do have.

Lemons help us change our outlook in life

When we are slightly (or even majorly) inconvenienced by the lemons life hands us, we don’t have to let it get us down. My dad always said that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it. We have the power to control how we react to every situation that happens in our lives. We have the power to accept the lemons for what they are and take it with a grain of salt. We can choose to just pucker up and shake it off.

Lemons will always be thrown your way. By whom, well heck, I still don’t know but I’d sure like to meet them. Lemons come in all different shapes and sizes and the bigger ones can hurt in different ways. It’s important to remember to catch the lemons as they fall, say “thanks” for the ones that help you grow, and pucker up for the ones that just plain suck. You will get through it, and when you do, you’ll have a greater tolerance for the sour things in life.