The Value of Lemonade Stands

One of the 24 Values In Action from Positive Psychology research is Persistence (Perseverance and Industriousness)(p.229).  This weekend I stopped to buy a glass of lemonade from two children in my neighborhood.  I had backed out of my garage and did not notice the lemonade stand until I was about turn the corner.  I pulled over – not because I needed lemonade – but because they had taken the time to ask their parents to set the stand up for them.

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
 
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About the author

Andrea Goeglein is part organizational psychologist, part entrepreneur, and all about success—your success. She understands both the pressures you face and the dreams that inspire you. Andrea merges her experience as a business owner with her training in Positive Psychology to provide effective, efficient and challenging personal development products and services. She combines an emphasis on objective assessment with an approach that is always powered by your spirit and guided by your goals. Her professional development offerings are based in theory and backed by direct business knowledge.

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