Read This When You Can’t Stop Thinking That Life Is Just Terrible

Every day you wake up and seem to face endless new challenges. Every time it seems like you are finally getting a handle on things, you lose your grip. We all work so hard to keep it together that we often don’t realize that “keeping it together” is what is tearing us apart.

The more time we spend trying to catch up, the further we seem to fall behind. And the farther we fall, the harder it becomes to see the way out.

There is always a way out. Maybe your way out isn’t what you had planned for or expected, but often what we think we need couldn’t be further from what is actually best for us.

Sometimes, I don’t think we actually know what is best for us. We spend so much time crafting this picture perfect life without even considering that we have solely become the one on the outside, merely looking in at the person we could be if only we “had it all.”

But who is it that decides who has it all and who doesn’t? Maybe you aren’t the person inside the neat little frame but who is to say enjoying your freedom outside of the box isn’t just as right? Maybe some of us are meant for white picket fences and others are meant to soar. Maybe some of us can’t stay in one place for too long because we can’t stand the idea of not being free. Maybe you are the only one who knows what your “perfect” is and maybe that is actually okay.

It is so easy to get caught up in the lives of everyone around us. Everywhere you look, you are guaranteed to find someone who is living the life you wish you had.

So what if you flipped that thought then? What if you considered all of the people who look at you like you are the epitome of success? Maybe if we all took the time to see ourselves for all that we are instead of all that we aren’t, we could finally be happy.

Maybe you haven’t been happy in a long time. Maybe the person you thought was the one left you. Maybe you spend every day wishing they would come back, trying to understand how something so right could go so wrong.

That’s the thing. Life is terrible, and there are always going to be so many things that happen to us that we will never understand. Relationships end, jobs become stressful, and our health fails us. But you can’t let yourself focus on every bad thing that happens to you because every setback doesn’t signify the end. They are simply just moments that make us slow down and really think about what exactly we are doing with our lives.

I like to believe that everything happens for a reason and that sometimes it just takes a while for that reason to get to us. So yes, life is a terrible, awful thing but alongside those bad days are so many moments and beautiful opportunities just waiting for you to find them. Life is unpredictable, but just because you never know what is coming your way doesn’t automatically mean that what is meant for you will always be negative. Life is made up of the good and the bad, and even when it seems overwhelmingly bad, try your best to remember all of the times that were bursting with good.

You will find your happiness again, just like you will fall into your sadness, too. Life ebbs and flows, but just promise yourself you won’t get pulled under by the current. I know some days it is so tempting to just let go, but on those days, always remember the beautiful ones that made you want to hold on.

Stay for those days, because even though life is terrible it is also so, so worth it.