When Life Gives You Lemons

Quick question – which camp do you fall in? A - When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or B – When life gives you lemons, squeeze them in someone’s face. The more I think about it; there is no right or wrong answer. When daunting things show up, one should do their best to look at the bright side and turn things around like point A suggests. However, there may be only one way to do that, plan B, which is to fight, at least when it comes to fighting to maintain your mortality, justice, and freedom.

Perhaps one of the best things about being an athlete is learning to stay positive through the thick and thin, along with battling back after defeat. One can only reach potential by believing it is possible and fighting for themselves when adversity shows.

The Lemonade+ Mindset

When life gives you lemons, the following mindset can help to both remain optimistic and fight to turn it all around:

1. Do not go on and on about how things were better back in the day. Set out to make your current situation better.

2. Recall all the things you did in the past to overcome hardship and apply those things. Think of what influential people in your history said and did to incorporate positivity and avoid the negative.

3. Go into each day with the notion that you have an opportunity, and when that seems nonexistent, set about to make one.

4. Make it your goal to be a better person at the end of the day than at the start, even if it’s a slight improvement.

5. Never forget that a simple smile or acknowledgment of another can change someone’s life and yours.  

Finally, the first quote above is much more known because kindness and optimism get one ahead more than bitterness in the long run.

The Success Trail deciphers the steps to reach potential through the trials and triumphs gathered from my Major League Baseball quest and running 14 marathons.