You might not have accomplished everything you hoped to achieve in 2019. You might feel like, while all of your friends were busy graduating and getting married and buying their first homes, you were stuck in the same place. Working the same job. Living the same unsatisfying life.

But even if you spent most of 2019 miserable, you shouldn’t be down on yourself about it. You shouldn’t feel like a failure. You succeeded when it comes to the most important thing. You survived.

Maybe you’re shaking your head. Maybe you’re rolling your eyes. Maybe you feel like that’s a bullshit accomplishment. After all, you’ve probably heard that saying about how you don’t want to exist, you want to really live. While that’s true in a way, sometimes it’s okay if simply existing is your goal. Sometimes, life is so difficult and your brain is so overwhelmed and your body is so tired that existing is enough. Existing is succeeding.

There were days when you didn’t want to get out of bed, when the thought of moving made you a nervous wreck, but you pulled the blankets off and did what you had to do. Or maybe you stayed in bed for longer than you should have. Maybe you let your sadness win for a little while. Maybe you locked yourself away for hours. Either way, you made it through the day. You did whatever it took to survive. You pulled yourself through the darkness.

You made it here — and maybe here doesn’t feel like a great place to be right now. Maybe you’re sad, lonely, insecure, exhausted. Maybe 2019 took away some friends, some relationships, some loved ones and piled on some bills, some insecurities, and some stress. Maybe a part of you is happy this horrible year is over with, but maybe another part of you is worried that 2020 will be just as horrible. But it doesn’t have to be that way. This next year could be the happiest year of your life.

Of course, in order to make 2019 great, you have to put in effort. You have to trust yourself. You have to work on your goals. You have to take risks. You have to leave your comfort zone. You might feel like you aren’t strong enough to do those things, but you are, because you were strong enough to survive this last year. If you were able to do that, you can do anything. Stop selling yourself short. Stop doubting your potential. Stop expecting tomorrow to be miserable simply because yesterday was miserable. Allow yourself to act like an optimist for a change. Allow yourself to love yourself.

Don’t feel like your 2019 was a complete waste because even if you didn’t accomplish everything you set out to do, you still managed to accomplish the most beautiful thing of all. You made it until today. You endured your weakest moments, your toughest tragedies, your most mountainous insecurities. You survived another 365 days. And you should be proud of yourself for how much strength that took.