Life sucks.

There is no sugar coating it. Life is hard, people can be cruel, and sometimes it's just a little too damn hard to get up in the morning.

But that’s the thing. There will always be more work to do, there will always be more bills to pay, and there will always be little inconveniences in each and every day. Things aren’t going to magically get easier or slow down. In fact, with each passing moment, time will move faster and faster. So try not to blink, because everything around you will be gone before you know it.

With all this work, stress, and hectic chaos, what will make life mean something, what will give your life purpose, is ALL in your attitude. You need to wake up and jump out of bed each day with a grateful heart. With a smile. You’re here, you’re breathing, you’re alive. Don’t take a second for granted, and most definitely don’t waste even a minute bothering with negativity.

Negativity is a destructive tool that we use to turn an amazing moment into a miserable one. A cherished memory into a sad one. When you step back and think about the things you become negative about, most of them won’t even matter next week. So stop, look around you, breathe, and let it go.

I know of these things because I am more than guilty of them myself. I spend time getting worked up about a last-minute assignment given by a professor. I’m upset because it wasn’t on the syllabus and it stresses me out. But you know what? I have to do it, and those pop-up nuisances always get done. Just put in the work, try your best, and let it go.

I get upset about the weather. I’m a "sunny and 75" kind of girl, and when there are clouds in the sky, there are clouds in my mind. But it’s Mother Nature. She’s not always feeling 100 percent, and neither are we. How would we appreciate the sunshine, if it was hanging high in the sky at all times? Appreciate the balance necessary in nature, and you will, in turn, appreciate the balance that is necessary within yourself. Then, you’ll be able to smile even when it’s raining, and when a negative feeling comes along, you can let it go.

I worry too much about what others are thinking about me. Even when it comes to some dear friends, I worry if they truly like me. Spoiler alert to self: they do. I need to stop worrying about what people are thinking. I need to cease the negative self-perception; the one where I feel as if I’m annoying, or as if I am not good, smart, or beautiful enough. I don’t think that about others, so why would they be thinking that about me? You know the drill. Let. It. Go.

I become so overwhelmed to the point where I cry. To the point where stress starts physically affecting me. As someone near and dear to me once jokingly put it, “I think you’re addicted to stress!” (Sadly, I am). And for what? Every assignment, meeting, or task, I’ve ever had to do or attend to has been taken care of. I’ve gotten it done. There is no sense to get so worked up when I’ll put the same amount of work and effort in regardless. All I’m doing with the stressed-out phase is wasting precious time. So, here’s my break up from my addiction to stress. It’s in my past because I’ve let it go.

So here is what you have to do. With all those little things you have that take up your happiness... Let. It. Go. Once you do, joy will fill the cracks that the stress, worry, and negativity couldn’t. You will feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. And you will finally be able to let out a sigh of relief as your soul has found it’s invincible sunshine.