Riding the Struggle Bus

The most challenging part of the school year is quickly approaching; Finals, the busy holidays, going back and forth from home, getting gifts and anything in-between. In addition to these stresses, we’re all broke, overwhelmed, and breaking out. It feels like we spend each week awaiting the weekend, and once it comes, we begin preparation for the week ahead. Now, I could let these next few months kick my butt, or, I could take them with a grain of salt. The only way to get though challenges is to just do it. Embrace the vertigo you feel from peering over the edge. Let the knot in your stomach be a reminder to keep pressing. Ride the struggle bus all the way to relief.

The truth is, we’re human, and obstacles are a part of life. No matter what, the clock will not stop for you to catch your breath. The easiest way out is through.

But this its not new information! You’ve done it so many times before! Think of how many times in the past month, past year, or your whole life for that matter, where you felt hounded and overwhelmed by your situation and experienced discomfort on any level…and look where you are now: sitting on the other side! You have been through more difficult things than this! And if you’re seriously deep in some form of trauma that has never before broken your walls in this manner, just remember that the only outcome to manifest is growth. “What does not kill you makes you stronger.” “You grow through what you go through.” Use whatever cliché or aphorism necessary to keep your fears from consuming you.

Whatever is adverse in your path, be it childhood trauma, financial struggles, relationship conflict (or lack thereof), academics, employment issues, homesickness, or just finding yourself in a funk, there is purpose in what feels like poison. There is no sense in feeling shameful for things that are behind you. Take your feelings of frustration and resentment and use them to motivate you to find the beautiful life that is awaiting you on the other side of anxiety. We each, no matter our struggles, deserve a life of fulfillment, and if embracing the chaos is the quickest way to find it, then bring it on!

Consider these things:

1. Think of a situation in which you felt you could not recover? Did you get through it? If so, how?
2. Whats one change you can adopt to ease your struggle?
3. When you feel deeply discomforted, what is one thing you will tell yourself to serve as a reminder of your power?

Personally, I would ride the struggle bus all the way through Crazy Town, Tearsville, Sin City, and back if it meant one day claiming my catharsis. For me, the struggles may last longer than through the holiday season…The next four years will most likely be a bus ride from hell (and then some). For you, it might just be a big presentation today, an intense week, a drawn out recovery process, or a decade-long process of building confidence. Whatever your struggle may be, remember to see the good amongst the pain and push through when you feel like hitting pause.

Much love, Ev.

If you resonated with this in any way, feel feel to check out Fighting the Funk