7 Crucial Things To Remember When Your Life Feels Impossible
“Strength grows in the moments when you think you can’t go on but you keep going anyway.”
getty When I was 16, I thought I lost everything. I got kicked out of high school because my mom couldn’t pay my tuition. My dad rejected me and I was heartbroken. We lost heat, hot water, and electricity. We struggled to fill our bellies every night.
Life was hard.
A deep, isolating depression began to crawl through my veins like poisonous venom I couldn’t seem to cleanse myself from. I felt powerless, lost and broken. It was as though the pain would last forever.
But it didn’t. And you know what? I’m grateful for those struggles because without them I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today.
And if you’re going through hard times right now and your life seems impossibly difficult to navigate I want you to keep these 7 things in mind:
1. Even your worst days only have 24 hours
When life gets tough, time seems to drag on forever, doesn’t it?
I know how you feel and it’s not easy, but it will pass. I promise you.
Even those impossibly hard days only last for 24 hours. And each second, minute and hour that passes brings you one step closer to overcoming this current period of your life and moving forward as a stronger, wiser person.
2. You are only given what you can handle
Life isn’t always smooth sailing. As Benjamin Franklin once said: “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” And you know what? He was right.
Life might not always be easy, but it doesn’t give you more than you can personally handle (although sometimes it certainly feels that way when you’re in the midst of hardship).
All of your struggles culminated together will ultimately shape you into a more skilled, adaptable, empathetic and passionate person if you let them.
The question is, will you?
3. There’s always a lesson
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first and the lesson afterward.” – Vernon Law
We are all students. Life is our teacher. And every experience we have provides us with another opportunity to learn and grow. This is especially true during challenging times when we’re placed on an accelerated path to growth.
The tricky thing, of course, is understanding we’re first given the challenge, and then presented with the lesson. During these tough times remember, you’re being always being guided to a new level of understanding.
4. You still have the power of choice
“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty.” – Lao Tzu
Right now as you’re going through this difficult period remember — you STILL have the power to choose how you feel and react to circumstances.
It’s up to you to decide what your perspective will be throughout every stage of life. And realizing this is powerful because it puts you back in the driver’s seat of your own life experiences.
5. Life’s challenges often prepare us for greatness
Look at Oprah, J.K. Rowling, Tyler Perry, Amanda Lindhout and countless other people who are successful and inspiring.
What do they all have in common?
They’ve all overcome tremendously challenging circumstances and chosen to use those circumstances as a launching pad to pursue their dreams while helping and inspiring others along the way. And they’ve all had a choice — they could have easily succumbed to their hardships and people would have understood. But they didn’t. And neither should you.
Use the difficult periods of your life as ammunition to succeed and achieve your goals. Don’t let anything or anyone hold you back from greatness because greatness is part of you.
6. As long as you're breathing you still have another chance
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Do you feel the oxygen effortlessly filling up your lungs, breathing life into your physical body? You’re still here. You still have now. And you were given this day and this chance for a reason.
Don’t give up. You can get through this. I believe in you. The universe believes in you.
7. Hard times always seem impossible until they're done
Impossible = I’m Possible
Have you ever looked back at your life and thought, “wow, I can’t believe I lived through that!”
I know I have, and it’s in those moments of reflection I realize how resilient we are as human beings.
We try. We fall. We go through hard times. We get broken. We get hurt. We stand back up and we try again. We are incredible. We are strong. We are capable. And we have the power within ourselves to make it through difficult experiences and come out stronger.
You’ve got this, okay?
Antasha is a spiritual writer, life-long student of the universe, and psychic tarot card reader. Her website is dedicated to casualizing the spiritual experience and making it attainable for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Follow her for free, easy-to-digest and highly actionable advice on spirituality, mindfulness and empowered living.