When Life Hands You Lemons (get the tequila out!)

Life isn’t always rainbows and lollipops. Nope. Sometimes life throws us lemons. Big lemons. So when life hands you lemons, besides pouring a shot of tequila, what on earth do we do?

Taking a leap of faith

In July of 2015, I decided to take a leap of faith and retire from my regular day j.o.b and become a full time freelance writer. It was a big scary move. I felt like throwing up when I handed in my resignation letter. I doubted myself a few times (yes every now and then fear still creeps in to my world).

Funny though, very rarely does my self confidence take a hit….but.

I knew that if I didn’t do it right then and there I would spend forever putting it off and only dreaming about it. There comes a time when you have to bring your dreams into the real world, right?

So I did it. It was pretty liberating. I had never felt freer in my life. I am 52 years old and just retired from my job. Even typing that out still kinda freaks me out.

Anyway, so life is pretty good. I still have to do my writing work but I do it on my time. As long as it all gets done before the deadline, I’m good to go (and I might add I have yet to miss my deadline). My freelance writing income has completely replaced my previous income.

It’s great. I got comfy. And then….

When life hands you lemons

…and then this happened!

But before I tell you about that let me fill you in on a little big something that’s going on right now. I am a few days away from packing up the life I know here in Sudbury and starting a life in Guatemala (even typing that out freaks me out!!).

I’m not sure how long I’ll be down there for but it will be awhile. 3 months at least, 6 months, it’s anyone’s guess really.

So last week I get a message from one of my clients. They’re pulling a job from me. OUCH. A big job. And suddenly my income takes a hit. A BIG hit.

And once again, I felt like throwing up. When the panic settled and after I talked it out with my son (who happened to be online at the same time I got this message), I actually managed to turn this whole negative thing into a positive thing. I know, crazy, right?

It is crazy but something occurred to me. I’m the girl that always finds positive out of negative. I’m the girl who always tells you guys that good things are just around the corner, to stop whining and complaining, to dream big and reach for the stars, to flick fear away, to try new things, be willing to change.

I’m that girl and it was time for me to walk my talk. And I did.

The loss of this big contract just opened up some free space for something even more awesomer (ya that’s a word) to come into my life. I’m actually kinda excited now. Broke, but excited. I’m still jetting off to Guatemala, I’ll still be able to support myself while I’m down there so all is not lost. I’ll be ok.

It also opened up the door for me to strengthen a skill I sort of already had. I spent an afternoon with an Angel Card Reader and now I am fully confident in my ability to deliver messages from the Angels. How sweet is that?

So I’ll take my gift and head down South. Confident that only good things come to me and when something unexpected happens, I have to remember it happened for a reason, a good reason.

Remember,when life gives you lemons it’s not really that bad. It’s a blessing in disguise and it’s opening the door for something way better to get to you. Trust the universe.

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade

Or pour some tequila or make a lemon drink or maybe a nice fresh glass of lemon water but for God sake don’t fret over it.

Things aren’t always going to go as planned. That’s why it’s so important to not have expectations or rely on any one thing for something. It’s important to remain flexible in life but not only that, it’s crucial to not lose your marbles when life hands you lemons.

It can’t always be cherries and bananas, amirite?

Learn how to make the best out of bad situations. Learn how to take a step back and see the situation from another angle but most importantly, remember that when things don’t go as planned it’s because the universe has something else in mind for you.

Keep an open mind and an even temper. Especially the temper part. The last thing you need to be doing when life gives you lemons is throwing them at the people around you. Whatever happened isn’t their fault. They don’t deserve to have lemons thrown at them.

Save your lemons for that nice lemon drink, whether it be with tequila or not.

Peace and Love!

Iva ♥

(2021 update. I am still in Guatemala, I work for myself now and life is amazing. Yay!! Keep throwing those lemons at me life!)