Lemonading: A New Perspective

Hey there, everyone! Brendan here once again, and I wanted to share something that Steffani originally shared with me. I admit I hadn't heard of it before, but it seemed really interesting to me and honestly fit the Nakee vibe pretty well, so I wanted to write about it here!

There's this concept called “lemonading,” a word that my spell check utterly refuses to recognize. It's based on that age-old axiom of making lemonade out of the lemons that life hands you, and finding the joy in tough times. That's something that feels particularly relevant, and might have more benefits than one would expect. Let's get into it:

Growing Old is Mandatory, Growing Up is Optional

Lemonading is, distilled down, a matter of individual perspective. It involves a conscious and considered choice to see the world differently, to utilize the tools of our minds to approach situations creatively and to remember that we are capable of overcoming our obstacles through persistence and optimism. It may sound a bit abstract and buzzword-y when put that way, but I promise it's actually something backed by science!

The benefits of lemonading might be best defined by a University of Oregon study conducted during the pandemic and how people handled it. The habits of folks who were considered playful (in the study, something defined as being “characterized by fun-oriented intrinsic motivation, uninhibitedness, and spontaneity”) were compared to those who did not engage with the world through a “color spotlight.” It was found that those who demonstrated this ability possessed significantly greater resilience in dealing with their struggles. The overall outcome statement is simply too interesting not to share in its entirety:

More playful individuals (1) shared similar perceptions of current risk and protective factors while adopting a more optimistic future outlook, (2) perceived similar levels of vulnerability and isolation but engaged in significantly higher levels of resilient coping and adaptive leisure, and (3) participated in similar categories and frequencies of leisure activities but with higher experiential quality, marked by greater immersion, activeness, and positive affect. 

It's the second point that really stuck out to me, honestly– the idea that we are all equally susceptible to the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” as Shakespeare put it, but that those of us who utilize a more positive perspective and engage with the world enjoyably benefit from doing so. That is a way of living that I have long struggled with being able to accept for myself, but the more that I've tried to bring that change about in my perspective, the more that I've engaged with hope and understanding, the better I've felt. 

Drinking Your Lemonade and Enjoying It Too

As I was writing this blog, I shared more about the concept of lemonading with my girlfriend, and we ended up getting distracted and having a good conversation about how each of us had approached the struggles earlier in our lives. I believe that doing this is a good way to help get 'into' lemonading if you find that it's a thing you have trouble with; defining your own approach to your problems is the first step to changing said approach, I suppose. As part of our conversation, my girlfriend and I recited a line from one of our favorite internet memes that really fit the moment– “I will always be silly! I will always be goofy!” That's so much of it in a nutshell, I suppose.

Of course, lemons are inherently sour things; there's a reason we often temper our lemonade with sugar. That being said, though, there are a lot of resources that you can use to help blunt the edge of life's adversities and even prepare for them in advance. I wanted to list a few of those here today, because we should never, ever be ashamed of asking for help when we need it, but sometimes it can feel overwhelming to even find it. Here's some important links for those who may need them:

• Mental Health First Aid – A guide to hotlines and webpages with a variety of national and international resources for those facing mental health troubles of all sorts. Here is a similar site to the above, compiled by the CDC under its own mental wellness banner. 
• WXYZ's Housing Guide – Similar to the above, a compilation of resources for those facing issues related to housing and living in the city of Detroit. Here is a national version of this guide for folks living elsewhere in the United States. I know that there are a lot of local-focused pages like these for different areas too.
• Feeding America's Food Bank Finder – A self-explanatory name, but I wanted to share this one as much for those who may not need it right now. The demand is rising further in places like Feeding America, and I would urge those who are able to do so to donate when they can!

There is a form of risk with lemonading, in that there are aspects of life and living that need to be taken seriously. Part of doing it well means understanding where these limits lie, when wistfulness needs to be supplanted by wisdom (and remembering that classic line from Wrath of Khan that “knowledge is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.”) If you choose to pursue this more positive outlook, you may feel dissuaded from doing so by negative news or a lack of immediate change, but I encourage you to stick with it.

To me, it's simply a better way to live and experience the world; giving up is not sustainable! There's no one right answer or correct way to approach life, with everyone having to find their own blend of philosophies and avenues, but is there really harm in letting your inner child loose a bit more often, engaging with the whimsy of a world that so often makes so little sense anyways?

Anyways, I got dangerously close to getting philosophical in a blog post again. Whoops! If you wouldn't mind doing me a favor, grab some Nakee Butter and have a great weekend, everyone. Thanks for reading!