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Lemonade stands are not something parents force a kid to
do. Generally, kids ask for help to put
a stand together. Asking for a lemonade
stand does not mean you are necessarily industrious, but it does help you learn
in a safe environment what it might take to succeed in life. I live in a gated community. I do not live on a heavily trafficked street,
yet these two children decided to try, in the 100 degree heat, to sell their
tasty libation. They could have been in
the pool, in an air conditioned family room watching television, or on the
computer playing games. Instead, they
chose to put themselves ‘out there’ and try their hand at a small
business.
I like that for whatever the reason we live in a country
with a ‘lemonade stand’ metaphor. When
some business person wants to prove they were industrious from a young age,
they like to talk about the newspaper routes and lemonade stands they started. As
they get older and traverse greater challenges in less safe business environments,
there are lots of stories of turning ‘lemons into lemonade.’ The metaphor of turning something naturally
sour into something sweet and enjoyable is the perfect metaphor for teaching resilience. Resilience is the attribute that supports
persistence, perseverance and industriousness.
We are never too young, or too old, to learn to build such great
attributes.
Happy Monday. Thank you, Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Two academic resources to check out: Character Strengths and Virtues by Christopher Peterson and Martin E. P. Seligman and Resilience by Karen Reivich
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