When life gives you lemons...

Let’s just say it has been less than the most peaceful week.

No matter your intentions when your feet hit the floor, life happens to all of us.

This week, I had a very stressful work situation that led me feeling on a low ebb and not sleeping well, kids to wrangle during school holidays, decisions to make, and to top it off, the week ended with a flood, my house ended up like a castle with a moat around it, where Auckland was declared a state of emergency.

How does that leave me, who has been labelled as “one of the most positive people out there” feeling?

It leaves me feeling like I need to be in hermit mode, to try and regain some of my positive energy back.

I understand that it’s hard to maintain a positive attitude when it feels as if the world is pushing back against you.

When I go into hermit mode, I try to stay in my home, and deal with only the things that I can deal with.

I tend to feel short tempered, tired, and as if I need to cope with only the very most basic things around me until my head can start to think clearly again and my mind starts to revert to some positive answers.

I find that if I try to do too many things during one of these times, that it is not good for my mental health.

But then a little pinpoint of light starts to penetrate through to my subconscious, and I start to think of the positives in the situation:

“Why is this happening and what can I learn from it?”

“If you don’t get squeezed no paste comes out.”

“Life is tough, the sooner you realise that it’s tough for everyone, the sooner you can get on with life.”

“When life gives you lemons…add tequila and salt.”

I spin the positives.

Some of my biggest mistakes and failures have been my greatest learning experiences, and I try to treat obstacles as opportunities to grow.

Let’s face it. You never know what could have been worse if you hadn’t experienced the obstacle you have just experienced.

Maybe that obstacle helped you to prevent an even greater problem down the track.

Maybe that obstacle prevented a greater tragedy from happening.

The issue is, that because the obstacle happened in the first place you will never get to experience the even worse problem that would have happened if the problem hadn’t happened in the first place. Shew.

It sure is a conundrum.

So, you have to trust.

Trust that the universe has your back.

Trust that life is not deliberately targeting you and only you, to make things hard; and trust that you will get through this, and come out the other end with a greater understanding of yourself, and learn and grow.

Find what it is in the situation that life is trying to teach you.

Become stronger, become more loving, become more evolved.

Remember that even when you are feeling your most alone, that there are people out there that you can call upon to talk to.