When you’ve reached the end. Rock bottom. You feel like it’s time to give up and walk away.
And you don’t know if there’s anything else you can do.
Sometimes it feels that life is more than you can bear. Sometimes you just want to sleep.
If that’s the way you’re feeling today, I want to give you 10 facts that prove that you are stronger than you think.
- 1. You’ve come this far
- 2. Because you’re smart enough to figure it out
- 3. Because you’re not done yet.
- 4. Because people care
- 5. Because other people need you
- 6. Because some of your worries are wrong
- 7. Because you have more time than you think
- 8. Because you can’t do anything about it
- 9. Because walking away is right
- 10. Because you’ll be forgotten in time
- 11. Because humans can get through anything
- 11 quotes that prove you are stronger than you think
- Conclusion
1. You’ve come this far
Look to your past. Look at how far you’ve come.
There was something in your life that seemed impossible 10 years ago. 20 years ago.
It seemed like an absolutely huge, insurmountable barrier. You thought you would never be able to move past it.
Maybe it was the bills piling up. Maybe it was the death of someone you love. Maybe it was the loss of a relationship you didn’t think you could live without.
Somehow, looking back, you know that you managed to get through that. Against all odds.
You did that. You. You are stronger than you think.
2. Because you’re smart enough to figure it out
If you’re facing something overwhelming, let’s look at your past one more time.
Can you find the evidence that there you figured out things you never thought you could?
Even when you’re facing the toughest decisions or the most uncertainty, remember.
You’ve figured out incredibly difficult things in the past. You will do it now. Trust yourself to figure it out. You are stronger than you think.
3. Because you’re not done yet.
When we were kids, most of us had big dreams. We were going to be astronauts. Olympians. Rockstars.
Somewhere along the line, life beat the crap out of us. We stopped believing in that.
But no matter who you are, you have more to do. You’re not done yet.
And if you are blessed enough to have more days on this earth, there is still work to be done.
Look inside yourself for the goals or dreams you have that are still worth another go. If you can’t find one, look around the world and see something that needs to be done. Set yourself that goal.
A big hairy audacious goal. And then take one or two feeble steps toward it.
You’re not done yet. You still have work to do. You are stronger than you think.
4. Because people care
People care about you. They do. And even when you look at the world around and feel that nobody does, people care.
You might already know the people who care about you. Maybe you can list them right now.
Who is there that you could call that would listen?
Who would help you stand back up?
Who would give you the accountability you need right now?
Who would cry with you?
If your answer to these questions is, nobody…you need to find the right people.
Even if you feel completely alone right now, there are people in the world who would love to care for you if given a chance. Try joining a group. Try dropping into a class. Step into a religious community.
Realize that there are people all around who would care about you if given a chance.
5. Because other people need you
Sometimes, you are going to get back up and keep going because other people need you. It might be your kids or a spouse. It might be a family member.
Like a mom finding superhuman strength to lift a car off her child, you will find the strength you need.
And if it feels like no one needs you right now, it’s the same solution as above. Look around. Get into groups of people. Find tiny ways to help with the smallest amount of your energy, and feel better knowing that you made a difference in someone else’s life.
6. Because some of your worries are wrong
My daughter struggles with anxiety. Actually, I do too. But I never realized until I saw it in her.
Lying in bed at night, I would watch her mind start to construct a nightmare. Maybe somebody said something mean to her at school. This would turn into “nobody likes me,” “nobody wants to be my friend,” “nobody will come to my birthday party…”
Of course, none of those things were really true. And people came to her birthday party.
We have these wonderful brains that do amazing things. But they are also wired to protect us. And part of protecting us is that our brains can sense the many potential things that could go wrong in our lives.
We worry about them. We give them energy. We let them consume us.
And most of them never happen.
If you feel like you can’t keep going because the worries are crushing you, take a breath. Let it go. Most of those things won’t happen.
7. Because you have more time than you think
The thing about being overwhelmed is that the worries and things you need to deal with can all come at once.
They flood into your mind like a tidal wave, choking out your thoughts.
Take out a pen and make a list of all the things that you have to deal with. Some of them might be things you have to deal with this week. Some of them might be things that can wait.
You have time. When we’re feeling overwhelmed, the things that are overwhelming us don’t all need to be dealt with at once.
Pick the priorities and take one step at a time. You are stronger than you think.
8. Because you can’t do anything about it
Often, the things that overwhelm us aren’t even things we can do anything about.
If you’re spending all your energy being crushed by things you can’t change, you might need to find comfort in your own helplessness.
You may not be able to do anything about it.
It’s easier said than done. But if you are facing something you can’t change, acknowledging that can even give you a feeling of peace.
9. Because walking away is right
Sometimes, we don’t need strength to do something…we need strength to do nothing. And that’s hard too.
Have you ever loved an addict? Often, addicts will, again and again, do unspeakably cruel things to you. They will choose their addiction over you every time. And after trying to help again and again, there may come a time when you need to walk away.
It can take strength to walk away too. It takes strength not to help when the addict calls you in tears. It takes strength not to send money when you know that person’s going to hurt themselves with it.
Putting up a boundary might be the hardest thing you ever do. But if you know you need to do it, find someone to talk to about it.
And stick to it. You came to the decision for a reason. You are stronger than you think.
10. Because you’ll be forgotten in time
I talked about this above. One of the fascinating things about problems is that, given enough time, very few of them matter.
Back to the overwhelming things you faced decades ago. Do any of those still matter?
Look back to the people whose opinion you cared about in high school. Do you still care?
As human beings, we are constantly in the process of being forgotten. Our great-grandparents, generations back, all had worries and fears. Things they care about.
None of them matter today.
I hope this doesn’t seem too nihilistic. But I have found an incredible strength in knowing that I will be forgotten in time. I find strength in knowing that the thing that’s overwhelming me today won’t matter much in 5 or 10 years.
The thing you are dealing with isn’t forever. It’s just for a time. When you get through it, there’s something else on the other side. Good things and bad things. But definitely some good things.
So get through this one. Because you are stronger than you think.
11. Because humans can get through anything
My mother-in-law was killed in a car accident a decade ago. In the months that followed, my wife didn’t know if she could ever live again. Every day was a slow-moving sleepwalk, although thankfully we had a toddler at home to give us a few smiles.
I know refugee whose entire family was killed. Brothers, sisters, and their kid… all murdered. Yet somehow he gets up every day and still smiles at me.
The ability that humans have to withstand pain and to heal is incredible. So if you are dealing with something that feels like it will conquer you, it won’t.
You are a human. And that comes with incredible resilience. You are stronger than you think.
11 quotes that prove you are stronger than you think
- “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.” -Brene Brown
- “You are Braver than you believe, Stronger than you seem, Smarter than you think, and more Loved than you’ll ever know” -A. A. Milne
- “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” -Aristotle
- “In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
- “Fight and push harder for what you believe in, you’d be surprised, you are much stronger than you think.” -Lady Gaga
- “The willingness to show up changes us, it makes us a little braver each time.” -Brene Brown
- “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” -Nelson Mandela
- “The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win.” -Kobe Bryant
- “If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” -Thomas Edison
- “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” -Steve Jobs
- “Don’t have a weak mentality. You weren’t created to fall apart when pressure comes. You are STRONGER than you think. You are more FAVORED than you think.” -Joel Osteen
Conclusion
I hope this little article and these thoughts have helped you to dig deep and find your inner strength. It’s there. Find people to help you. Find others to help. And get through this and on to something else.
You are stronger than you think.
Read More:
How to Reinvent Yourself When You’re Lost (2 Exercises)
