Apples to Applesauce
As long as we are living and breathing, one thing that each of us holds in common is that each year we have the opportunity to celebrate the day we arrived here on the planet. Sometimes we celebrate in grand style, and sometimes we reflect on what has occurred during the days of the year that have gone by. Sometimes we sit there trying to anticipate what is to come.
During this week, I will get to celebrate my Birthday. It will be a bit different for me this year, as it will find me on the road traveling by myself. This travelling will allow me to take in a new perspective of who I am, what I want for the year ahead, and the gratitude of the years that have passed by.
I love road trips and having miles stretching in front of me. This time on the road gives me time to think and absorb the world as it speeds by - allowing me to think, dream, and just be. Some good tunes and singing out loud as I choose is nice too. ;)
A few weeks back I stood in my backyard looking at our apple tree and wondering what I was going to do with the abundance of apples that it has produced this year. That particular day, I decided to make apple and banana muffins.
Heading into the house with my apples, I found a recipe and realized that one of the ingredients that was required on top of the chopped apples was applesauce. My first instinct (as silly as it may seem) was a disappointing, “I don’t have any applesauce, so I can’t make these!” Now had it not been a Saturday morning with extra time to hang out with my thoughts, I might have left it at that and not made the muffins.
However, luckily my brain cells kicked in and the little light bulb went off in my head reminding me that I could make the applesauce with my plethora of apples right outside my back door. I did just that and was excited about the process with the plan to make more and freeze it for the winter months ahead.
My process of making something with the apples lead to a solution that would utilize many more apples. “Apples into applesauce” is similar to the thought of “lemons into lemonade.” Both methods take something that poses a problem, and through clever thinking, a solution is made. The solution may not be world changing at times, but can definitely improve our corners of the world.
So in the week ahead as I drive from Oregon to Utah to Colorado, speaking with groups of small business owners along my way, I will celebrate my opportunity to be able to do the work I love and celebrate the power of my brain’s thoughts as I go.
What are the challenges - big or small - in front of you right now? How can you make lemons into lemonade or apples into applesauce? Take the time and space to look at the issue from different angles in order to fully see what you need to see.
Sometimes it takes biting fully into the apple to get what we need the most. Would love to hear your stories of thinking transformations in the comment section below. After all, it’s what we share with each other that makes our thinking even more life changing as we go!
As I mark another notch on the doorway of life - here’s to making the week ahead all that it can be.
Happy Trails!
To Your Successes and Victories,
- Cheri
Cheri Ruskus
Author, Business Growth Coach,
and Founder of the Victory Circles
www.VictoryCircles.com
