You have been going through a tough time. Tough may mean difficult, but tough also means being able to endure hardship and pain. Endure, now that’s what you will do. Look at yourself in the mirror and say ‘pain is only temporary’ because it is just that, temporary. That throbbing pain in your heart, that anxious feeling in your stomach will fade. Day by day you will feel fuller, fuller with life as now you will no longer dim your light in fear of outshining others because those who truly love you will celebrate your achievements as you do theirs. You will embrace those who are there for you and cut ties with those who aren’t.
It’s important to expose the gentle, raw, tenderness of your heart to others. Yet, have the perseverance and power to fight for yourself when needed. The world we live in is both savage and beautiful, to survive and thrive you must be both the deer and the wolf.
You will take care of yourself. Now there’s a strange concept. Putting yourself first may feel strange as you’re so used to putting yourself second, third, fourth even, but no you are first, and should always be first in the game of life.You know where you truly live? In that head of yours, and that is the home that needs spring cleaning because it’s the only one you’ve got. Surround yourself with doers and dreamers, who inspire you to be the best ‘you’ imaginable, to get out of bed and make your day an adventure. Surround yourself with thinkers and believers, who will stimulate that over-fuelled mind of yours to create a better world than you live in today because there are bigger things to worry about than what’s happening now. If it’s not something that will impact your life in five years then it isn’t worth worrying about now.
Prioritize. Prioritize presence over hustle, compassion over judgment, progress over perfection, and community over competition. You are now done. Done trying to figure out who is with you, against you, or wandering around between the two. Life is way too short to leave the key to your happiness in someone else’s hands. So take it, it’s yours. Take charge in forming the life you want for yourself, to build the future you deserve, because only one person can: you.
Words by Jordan Byrne
Illustration by Lucas Shaw
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