I told the storm

There is a slogan that many individuals use to represent turning a trial into a triumph. Turning your “lemons” into “lemonade” is a phrase that discusses flipping your situation into something that benefits you. But what if you’re not given lemons? What if you’re given a burnt sheet of paper or torn clothes? What if the situation you are given is something that even the most optimistic person has a difficult time finding the positive? How do you turn that frown upside down? The truth is, sometimes you can’t.

Positivity and optimism are attitudes toward life. While they are often viewed as ways to make situations bearable, there are times where they can overshadow moments that should be experienced. At the beginning of one of my college courses we were given the assignment of watching Inside Out. The movie explored the different emotions we as humans experience as we go through puberty and life. The main concept I got from this movie is, SPOILER ALERT, it’s unhealthy to ignore emotions like sadness. When we ignore those emotions, we are not allowing our mind, body, and spirit to work through something that is natural. Eventually, your body will force you to interact with those emotions and you may not like what you see. This is possibly why we see people losing their hair randomly, getting sick a lot, being moody, breaking out, or drastically changing their attitude. Their body is trying to process certain moments in their lives that they did not allow themselves to handle in the past. This has happened to me many times.

When thinking about your financial wellness, it is essential to think about your holistic wellbeing. This means your mental, physical, spiritual, social, relational, and all-around personal wellbeing. Doing things like ignoring your bills because they are stressful, or avoiding conversations about money because it’s awkward may be causing more harm than good. If you ignore the bad, and forget to address your reality, you may eventually end up in a worse situation than you started. Your actions can also trickle down to your loved ones if you are not careful. If you are someone who has dependents, investors, or others who depend on you, ignoring your financial issues will impact them as well. If you are not honest with yourself about your spending habits, debt, late bills, or loss on an investment, you may encounter moments where you are faced with legal action, or certain items may be canceled. Facing the negative or hard moments isn’t a bad thing. It is a necessary thing.

In order to make “lemonade” out of “lemons,” you must first understand the properties of the lemon.

You must understand its taste, texture, and ability to mix with other flavors. It is at that moment you can make delicious lemonade. The same goes for your life. Turning a negative situation into a favorable situation starts with facing the negative. It begins with an individual processing their current situation, understanding it, living in it, then changing it. Life will always be full of moments that hurt. Those are the moments that mold us into the people we to be. It’s okay to cry, its okay to be sad, it’s okay not to want your current situation to be the way it is. What is most important is that you see your situation, face it, live through it, and come out triumphant. Remember consistency is key, and change takes time. Stay smart, stay healthy, stay financially well.