Read This While You’re Waiting For The Storm In Your Life To Pass, Because This Could Be The Moment That Changes Everything For You

While you’re waiting for this storm to pass, whatever it is, I want you to imagine every other storm you’ve weathered.

I want you to vividly recall every time in your life you were so absolutely certain that you were entirely screwed, so panicked about how you’d make it through the coming months, so lost that you couldn’t fathom what you’d be doing in a year’s time.

I want you to imagine everything else you’ve been through up until this point, every other situation you thought was the end of your entire Universe as you knew it, and recall that there was not one thing you’ve been through that was worse than the fear that you had about it.

Nothing.

Everything you swore you’d never get over, you did. Everything you were terrified you’ve never get through, you did. Everything you were certain was going to end your life as you knew it, passed… and it made you better.

When you’re in a tough or challenging or scary time in your life, you’re given an opportunity, and that is to recognize that the storm is on the inside, not the outside. There’s nothing you have to run and hide from. There’s nothing that’s really threatening to hurt you. The biggest danger you face right now is what you could fail to do out of fear. Your biggest enemy is yourself.

Because things happen in a life. Relationships end, jobs conclude, loved ones are lost. Cities change, people move, the world spins on.

You’re not being punished or tested. You don’t need to earn your own peace of mind, or repent for that which you never did.

This could be the moment that changes everything for you because it’s only when you’re in a storm that you realize you have the power to get out of it.

Not everyone is ready to hear this. Not everyone wants to. Some people feel safer, more justified in being victims of their circumstances. That’s okay. They’ll get tired of it eventually.

But once you realize you want more for yourself, you’re ready to have it. Eventually, you have to realize that the biggest challenge in your life was only ever the state of your own mind. Whether or not it allowed you to enjoy what was in front of you, whether or not it joyfully prepared for the future while savoring today, or whether or not it seized you up and made you feel paralyzed in the face of the unknown.

Change happens to every last one of us. It is the quality of our response to it that determines whether or not we suffer.

There’s a saying that when you get to the other side of a storm, you’re different, and that’s the point of going through it in the first place. But what few people realize is that the storm ends because you’re different.

Life shifts only in the direction that you do.

The storm passes when you’re done churning the tides of fear. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

January Nelson is a writer, editor, and dreamer. She writes about astrology, games, love, relationships, and entertainment. January graduated with an English and Literature degree from Columbia University.