While writing this book, I once asked an expert how he kept from worrying. He replied, "I have always tried to follow the advice: when you have a lemon, make a lemonade (柠檬汁)."
That is what a wise man does. But the fool does just the opposite. If he finds that life has given him a "lemon", he gives up and says, "I'm beaten. I haven't got a chance." Then he starts to develop a sense of self-pity. But when the wise man is handed a "lemon", he says, "What lesson can I learn from the bad luck? How can I improve my situation? How can I tun this lemon into a lemonade?"
Here is an interesting story of a woman who did just that. Her name is Thelma. "During the war," she told me about her experience, "my husband was sent to an Army training camp near the Mojave Desert. I went there to live with him. But I hated the place. I had never felt so terrible before. My husband was ordered out for training, so I was left alone most of the time. Not a friend to talk to but only the local people who couldn't speak English. The wind never stopped blowing. All the food I ate and the air I breathed were filled with sand, sand, sand! I was so sorry for myself that I wrote to my parents. I said I couldn't stand it one minute longer. My father answered my letter with just two lines - two lines that completely changed my life:
Two men looked out from prison bars (监狱铁窗).
One saw the mud (烂泥),the other saw stars.
I read those two lines over and over. I was ashamed of myself. I made up my mind I would find out what was good in my present situation. I would look for the stars."
-adapted from How to Stop Worrying and Start Living