1. It takes strength to do what you’re already doing. You might feel like you’re a weak person because you cry yourself to sleep every night, because you struggle to make it through each day, because you consider yourself fucked up. But the plot twist is you aren’t weak. You’re actually strong. It takes strength to do what you’re already doing, to move forward when you feel like giving up. It takes strength to be you.

2. Every cut and bruise heals at its own pace. You can — and should — put in the effort to help yourself heal from internal wounds. But you shouldn’t get frustrated with yourself if it’s taking too long to make progress. You aren’t going to see results overnight. It might take a while. It might take a lifetime.

3. Your past isn’t an indicator of your future. You might not want to bother trying to overcome your demons, your baggage, and your bad habits because you’ve failed in the past. But just because you weren’t able to accomplish your goals yesterday doesn’t mean you’re going to have the same results tomorrow. You can do this. The more you try, the more chances you have to succeed.

4. Taking a step back doesn’t mean you should give up hope completely. When you sneak a cigarette after months without one or text your ex after weeks with no contact, it feels like you’ve failed. It feels like you’re all the way back at step one. It feels like you might as well give up and start smoking again — or start dating him again — since you already fell down the rabbit hole. But once mistake does not need to lead to a million more. You can recognize you did the wrong thing and promise yourself not to do it again.

5. Everyone has baggage. Everyone has bad habits. But not everyone talks about how grueling it is to heal yourself from them. There were times when I thought I had gotten over certain demons, but it turned out they were only hibernating. It turned out my mental health needed more attention than I thought. It turned out my healing process was far from over.

6. Some people are going to misjudge you — and you have to be okay with that. Some people are going to assume you’re living the perfect life and will criticize you for complaining. Other people are going to assume you’re making yourself miserable because you’re lazy and undisciplined. But those people and their opinions don’t matter. They don’t know how hard you’ve been trying to be a good person. They don’t know all the work you’ve been putting in behind the scenes.

7. Sometimes, you need to ask for outside help. Sometimes, you aren’t going to be able to get through your shit alone. Sometimes, you’re going to need to vent to a friend about your problems or hire a therapist to help you figure out a way to fix your problems. Sometimes, suffering alone is only going to prolong that suffering.