When you take a bite of an apple that’s not ripe, perhaps even bitter, the problem isn’t with the apple; the problem is we didn’t wait for the tree to get to the place where the apple is ripe. It’s our timing that is the problem, not the apple itself, nor the tree. This is a powerful message for us, because it makes clear that the only real problem we have is that our process is not yet complete. That means we cannot beat ourselves up because we’re angry, sad or depressed, or because we haven’t reached our goals or benchmarks. We’re just a work in progress. We are the fruit not yet ripe for the picking. Would you cut down a tree because it gives unripe apples? No. You would be patient and have trust in the process. Ditto for you.