Confidence, Decisions, Feelings, Happiness, Hope, Inspiration, Moving Forward, Purpose, Relationships, Success, Support

You are Stronger Than You Realise

I’ve been having a really rough time lately. It’s been such an emotionally challenging time for me. But this whole experience has opened my eyes to something incredibly significant: that I am so much stronger than I realised.

Challenges build our resilience

Have you ever been faced with anything in your life and at first, thought to yourself, “I will never overcome this. It’s too difficult.”? You probably have felt this way at some stage. But do you also remember how rewarding it felt to overcome that ‘impossible’ challenge? To do what you never thought you could do?

Lately, I’ve been surprising myself at how strong I’ve been. I’ve surprised myself at the ease at which I’ve been choosing to face my problems head-on.

The challenges I have been facing have been testing my character, my values, my self-worth. I have been tested many times over the past few months, yet I have continued to stand strong and believe that life will get better.

Everything I’ve been going through has given me the confidence to believe that if I can get through this, then I can get through anything. That my strength doesn’t come from anyone or anything else, but from within myself.

Let yourself be upset

I’ll be honest, there are days where I don’t feel this positive. Where I’ll struggle to see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. But that’s okay. I don’t need to pretend for other people and I definitely don’t need to pretend for myself either. I can be upset. YOU can be upset.

Have a good cry. Don’t bottle those feelings up inside.

It’s been a common misconception that being vulnerable, upset, and having a cry is about being ‘weak’. That strength comes from being positive and happy all the time. That is not true.

It takes a lot of courage to admit, “I am not okay.” To tell the people we love most, “I need your help.”

What you can do to help your loved ones

As someone who is going through their own personal pain at the moment, I know that emotional support is what I need right now. And I am so grateful to have my husband, who has been so supportive and given me exactly what I need.

Right now, I don’t necessarily need any practical advice. I don’t want someone to push me into telling them what’s wrong either. I want someone to simply tell me that they’re there. That they will be there until I’m ready to talk.

Sometimes people simply need space to deal with whatever it is that they’re going through.

As well intentioned as you may be, let your loved one take the lead. Simply keep them in your thoughts and check up on them once in a while.

You will be okay

The_Greatest_Love_of_All

I’ve experienced many challenges in my life and I have overcome them. I have persevered in the face of adversity.

I have gone from feeling absolutely worthless about myself to realising that I am a worthy human being who can make a difference in other people’s lives.

I have taken control of my personal circumstances by taking control of my thoughts. By realising that life does not always deal the cards that you want it to, but it’s up to you to choose how you play them.

The other week, someone told me that I had “extraordinary human strength”. They couldn’t believe how resilient I was.

But did I really believe in what they were saying? Not entirely. I heard the words but I didn’t really listen to them.

But today I believe it. I believe it because it’s not always easy to see what others see. To see the strengths when we’re feeling weak. To understand how strong we really are.

You are strong. You are important. YOU matter.

Don’t underestimate what you’re capable of. Think back to all those times that you thought you wouldn’t be okay, but you were.

You were okay then. And you will be okay now.

Remember that you’re not alone. You may feel that way sometimes but you’re not. We are all in this together.

I will get through what I am going through. You will get through your pain as well.

You are so much stronger than you realise.

Thuy Wood (formerly known as Thuy Yau) is a freelance writer, resume/cover letter writer and Youth Worker living in Perth, Australia. She loves to share her own personal experiences about overcoming adversity, as she believes that human beings are more capable than they realise. She writes to make a positive difference in the world and to inspire others to learn from themselves and their own experiences. Her writing has been discussed on radio, won writing contests, appeared on The Huffington Post UK and major Australian sites such as news.com.au, SMH, Kidspot and Essential Kids. She has just completed her first book – a memoir - and is on the search for a publisher.

2 thoughts on “You are Stronger Than You Realise

    1. Hi Lani,
      Thanks for the kind words! Totally agree – been doing a lot of crying lately! Sure thing – haven’t been doing a lot of freelancing, just gotten back into it. Thanks for dropping by! Hope you’ve been well 🙂 xox

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