Sometimes life blows. You’re going to have those weeks where your cat dies, you’re $300 short on rent, you spent the last $10 you had on Chipotle and they forgot your side of guac, and your significant other spontaneously decides it’s time to “go your separate ways.”

Life tends to happen in cycles of triumphs and hardships; you’ll have six amazing months full of rich blessings followed by six months that leave you broke and watching self-help videos on Youtube while you try to pinpoint the exact moment that your life turned to shit.

As a coping mechanism, you vent to friends and family over coffee or via small talk at the dinner table in search of guidance and reassurance. We’ve all gotten that awkward “everything happens for a reason” response. Frankly, what else are you supposed to say when someone’s life really is that bad? Are you supposed to accept responsibility for everything and apologize? “I’m sorry your cat died, Carol,” is far from politically correct. While it may perhaps be the most hated phrase, could it also be true?

We’re too often consumed with drowning in our sorrows that we fail to realize we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.

Whatever you’re going through now, good or bad, is building you for what’s next, be it soaring to new heights or crashing and burning.

You were late to work today because if you’d left 30 seconds earlier, you would have caused a major accident. You failed that test because you’re going to marry your future tutor (maybe I’m stretching on this one, but a girl can dream, right?). You had to stay late at work only to realize later that someone was breaking into your house

The point is, everything does happen for a reason. You may not always know what it is, but at this moment, you are exactly where you’re supposed to be in your life.

You clicked on this article for a reason, too, and if you need some reassurance that you’re on the right path, here you go. If you’re looking for someone to give you the courage to get yourself out of a situation, allow me.

Whatever it is that’s making you feel stuck, face it, embrace it, and keep moving forward.