No one makes it through life unscathed. There will always be rough patches, whether at work, school or in your personal life. Life is not about the hard times, it is about what happens after the hard times. No matter what you are fighting, no matter the situation, you can keep going. No matter how dark the world might seem, there will be a light on the horizon if you fight for it. Getting back up is a choice. You have to check your surroundings and head in the direction you think is best.
I have heard “someone else has it worse than you” so many times in my life. What a stupid way to console somebody. Yes, there is tragedy in the world. There are people living in unimaginable conditions. What I don’t understand is how that is relevant. Telling someone not to feel a punch from life by thinking about the fact that it could have been worse does not mean the punch no longer hurts. Denying that the curveballs of life is silly and doesn’t help any situation.
When life hits a speed bump — when you don’t get that job you applied for, when somebody close to you leaves your life, when you don’t get the grade you think you deserve — take some time to think about it. Try not to dwell on how this affects you negatively, but do try to process what happened. If you feel the need to cry, go for it. If you are mad, go for an aggressive run from President’s Circle to the PHC. Let the emotion out rather than letting it build up deep down inside. Once the emotion has become less intense, you can look truthfully at the situation.
With a clear head look at your life. Figure out exactly what changed in your life and how it affects everything else. If the curveball came from work, you can rest assure that anything unrelated to work is still the same. Take stock of what hasn’t changed and know those areas of your life are still reliable. If you isolate what happened in your mind, you might come to realize this one bad occurrence doesn’t ruin your entire life. Focus on the future. Will this one event have lasting damage down the road? If not, take comfort in that. If this event will have a lasting effect, know that it is only going to slow you down and not stop you entirely. Try, if you can, to stand up and brush off the dirt.
What can you do about the problem right now? What can you do about it tomorrow? What can you learn from this? Sit down and answer those questions and more. The last question to ask yourself is “What do I do now?” Set your sights on something and go for it. Prove to life and yourself that a speed bump isn’t going to derail your entire future.
Yes, life sucks sometimes, but that doesn’t mean all of it will. You may lose friends or family, you might not get the position you wanted or you might be frustrated academically. When you take a punch, take a minute to contemplate the roots of your feelings. Mourn what happened, if you must. Cry if you can. But don’t let failure stop you from getting back up.