The old saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” gets trotted out all too often when someone is going through a hard time.
I don’t think it’s particularly useful. It’s trite and can come across as completely lacking in empathy. I know that’s not necessarily how the speaker intends for it to be interpreted, but unless there’s a whole lot of goodwill already in the relationship, it can do more harm than good.
I recently had a really sucky week, and I’m grateful no one threw that phrase at me. But a mantra that really helped me was Glennon Doyle’s ‘We can do hard things’.
It reminded me that I’m not alone in navigating tough times, and that it is possible to do the things we know we need to, even when they aren’t easy.
And something that I’m becoming increasingly committed to is valuing real over perfect. Which means that I’m done with sugar-coating, and trying to make myself seem invincible. So, during a hard week, I decided it was time to show up as I was on LinkedIn. (Are we connected over there? If not, let’s remedy that – I’d love it if you sent me a connection request – you can find me here.)
My LinkedIn post about doing hard things
Are you ready to be real?
I’m 100% here for each of us showing up as our real, whole-hearted, messy, wild, unique selves. That doesn’t mean we need to vomit onto social media about every last little thing that happens to us. But it does mean meeting ourselves and others with compassion, grace, and kindness.
If you’re looking for some support as you show up as your full self, let’s talk. I coach people to embrace their full humanity as they create the life and work of their dreams.
