You should be proud of yourself for doing everything you can to survive. Whether it’s waking up in the morning determined to get through another challenge, another struggle or another bad day. You should be proud of the way you make ends meet; whether you’re driven to motivate yourself in your humdrum job or whether you’re hustling different jobs to make sure you pay your bills every month.

You should be proud of yourself for trying to mend your broken heart and how you didn’t let someone betray you or lie to you or manipulate you. You should be proud of all the ways you have healed and all the heartbreaks you overcame that showed you what you can put up with, what you can’t tolerate and when it’s time to leave. You should be proud of how much you take care of yourself to a point where you don’t let your love for others deter you.

You should be proud of yourself for working on your weaknesses, for not taking the easy way out when you hit a few bumps on the road. You should be proud of yourself for facing your fears or taking big risks when you’re not sure of the outcome or speaking up when your voice is shaking. You should be proud of yourself for learning how to cope with the things that make you uncomfortable and the situations you’ve never encountered before. You should be proud of yourself for the things you do right especially if no one taught you how or no one guided you.

You should be proud of yourself for surviving the big things, for overcoming the big obstacles but you should also celebrate the little wins, you should be proud of yourself for surviving the little things because you would be surprised how the little things can throw you off balance and knock you out when you don’t deal with them right away. You should be proud of yourself for trying, for growing, for evolving when it’s easier to stay in your bubble or your comfort zone or your shelter.

You should be proud of yourself for not giving up on life even if it keeps getting harder or more challenging and you should be proud of yourself for not giving up on you because if you can always fight for your survival, then you’ll overcome anything and if you can always find a way to leave behind your past or your mistakes or your wrongdoings without letting them define you then you’ll be able to mend your broken pieces time and time again.

You should be proud of yourself because sometimes you won’t find the support you need, you won’t find those who love you the way you want to be loved, you won’t find those who appreciate your efforts or how far you’ve come and you won’t find those who will acknowledge the battles you fight to make it through another day and that’s why sometimes you have to be that person for yourself and learn the art of survival — all alone.