WHAT TO DO WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS

WHAT TO DO WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS

Sometimes in life, you don’t quite get what you expected or planned for. The reality of life is there are too many variables for things to go undisrupted or unchanged, and let’s be honest, if that wasn’t the case life would be somewhat boring.

But naturally when things don’t quite go as you had imagined, it can sometimes be a shock, take some time to understand, and even more to accept and move forward from. A once balanced situation might shift significantly in one direction, or a once stable set up can change beyond recognition.

It’s normal. Yet it can still take a little getting used to. Today I thought I’d share 5 pieces of advice to help you cope and adapt when life decides to hand you lemons.

TAKE TIME

When things change course, it’s usually pretty quickly. One day everything’s normal. The next it’s not. But remember one thing, you can take back control of time, you don’t need to react immediately, you don’t need to change your plan in an instant and you don’t need to panic and put pressure on yourself.

In most cases everything happens for a reason, you just need to give yourself the time to work out your next move.

GET PERSPECTIVE

What might feel like the worst thing in the world to you, in reality probably isn’t, it just feels like that because of shock, surprise and a lack of control on your part. Actually when life throws you a lemon, it might be the biggest blessing in disguise, you just don’t know it yet.

BE PRAGMATIC

So to that point keep an open mind about everything, be pragmatic. Think rationally and logically about the situation, and what you WANT to do next.

If the house your buying falls through, take a moment to reassess, and think carefully about what it means and what’s next. Chances are the house you end up in is more perfect, so don’t lose all emotional and rational stability because this one didn’t quite turn out as you hoped. The same goes for jobs, a relationship ending (or starting) or even simple things like plans you’ve made that don’t quite work out.

SUPPORT

The best things about friends and family are that they’re there when you need them, whether that’s for a laugh a cry, or for a fresh opinion or a sense of reason. My support network is incredible and I lean on my family and friends constantly for advice, reassurance, to get their opinion on my plans or thinking. This couldn’t be more true in times of uncertainty, or when I have big decisions to make. Find those people in your life that count, and keep them close!

EMBRACE THE ADVENTURE

As I mentioned, that lemon could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you, but that’ll only be the case if you embrace it with an open mind. See the change or little lemon as an opportunity, a trigger for the next adventure. Why not use the occasion to update your bucket list, take that leap of faith, do those things you had been putting on hold.

You only live once, so live it!

The difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude. Bob Bitchin

Being handed a lemon or something unexpected happening that changes the course of your life or plans can feel daunting, sad, even upsetting, but take time to work through those emotions, and then start channelling the positive opportunities that you now have open in front of you. The world really is your oyster.