Embracing You Inner Lemon
posted in World of Work |This is an activity I do in some of my workshops…
As participants walk into the room they notice that each person’s space is set up with a number of items. The one that always seems to grab their attention first is the lemon.
I ask each participant to take a few minutes to “get to know their lemon” … to look their lemon over and become familiar with it. Then I collect the lemons and randomly arrange them on a table in the front of the room. At this point I ask all the participants, usually between 25-40, to come to the front of the room and find their original lemon.
Surprisingly, most people are successful in finding their lemon.
My point in this simple activity is that at first glance all lemons look alike, but when you take a few minutes to really look at the lemon you see differences and nuances that are unique to the individual lemon. AND, in addition to being unique, each lemon can be successful in its “job” … in my scenario making lemonade.
People are the similar to lemons. (No, we are not sour.) At first glance we look alike, but when you get to know each of us we are unique individuals with our own style and ways of doing things. However, we each have the same potential to be successful in whatever we set our minds to.
One of my favorite quotes is by St. Francis de Sales. He said, “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” In other words, don’t look at someone else and wish you were more like them. You’ve been given a wonderful set of characteristics and qualities that make you unique.
Embrace your individuality and celebrate what makes you unique. Then know that with determination you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.
Choose a Better Life by choosing to believe that your uniqueness sets you apart for success.