I think it’s easy to walk away. To throw your hands up and be done, that’s the easiest thing you can do. I mean, the world is constantly fighting against us in a million different ways. Plus, it takes a lot less effort to walk away than to continue fighting whatever daily obstacle you’re facing. It’s tempting, convenient, and usually the first thought that comes to your mind on rough days. All I can say is when you feel like giving up, don’t. Instead, remind yourself of a few things:

1. Just breathe.

First of all, just breathe. It’s easy for people to just tell you, “it gets better.” That does literally nothing to bring someone out of their eleventh mental breakdown of the week. So, breathe. Take a moment to yourself to gather all your thoughts and set aside the extra list of tasks you’re using to occupy your mind. Find a calm in the day’s storm.

2. Pace yourself.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to accomplish a goal if you meet it in the long run. Everyone works in different ways and at different paces. Remind yourself to take things one day at a time. You don’t need to conquer the world, even if you would look super fly with a cape. You’ll accomplish a lot more if you don’t try to do a month’s worth of work in three days.

3. Recognize your accomplishments.

One of the most important things to do is to recognize your accomplishments. Any day that you’re feeling down, look back at how far you’ve come. Look at everything that you have overcome and remind yourself that those were also things you once thought you couldn’t do. Nothing negative ever comes from being proud of yourself.

4. Stay motivated.

It’s hard to stay motivated when you feel defeated, so remind yourself that you’re doing the best that you can. Surround yourself with people that will push you when you can’t seem to find the motivation. But don’t forget that you’re holding on for you. You deserve to have better days, so make sure you’re working towards them.

5. It’s okay to not be okay.

You get tired of walking around with a fake smile on your face. It’s hard to fight battles that no one understands or knows about. You can be sitting in a room full of people and feel completely alone. It’s loud but to you everything is still and silent. Everyone expects you to be like a brick wall when things go wrong, but you don’t have to be strong all the time. You don’t have to feel like there’s something wrong with you because you can’t seem to catch a break. It’s okay to not be okay. Remember that.

It’s just a bad day, not a bad life. And even if life really is bad now, that doesn’t mean it always will be. It’s hard to see the light in things when you’ve been sitting in the dark for so long. However, every day that you decide to face your battles, you win. It doesn’t matter how much you struggle or for how long. What really matters is the resilience that you show. Remember that it’s not always about overcoming the obstacle. Sometimes it’s about the journey that you took to get there. This moment right now, when you’re struggling to get through the days, is just as significant as the day that you actually do overcome everything. So, fight back, take care of yourself and be patient. You’ll surprise yourself one day.