Despite what your Facebook and Instagram feed displays, there is not one person around you who isn’t going through some shit.

Some people just choose to cover it up, gloss it over, or ignore it. They carefully cultivate a different visual for the world to see.

And that’s ok. It’s what works for them. Maybe it’s what works for you.

And when I talk about ‘going through some shit’, I am not just talking about big stuff. There is a wide variety of crap, big or small, that you could be facing:

• Stress about Money
• Unhappy at Work
• Anxiety about school or classes or certifications
• A broken down appliance or car
• Not enough time in the day to get it all done
• Feeling pulled in too many directions
• Health issues for you or a family member
• Grief
• Relationship issues (this includes bad relationships, lack of relationships, complicated relationships, that uncertain period when you start a relationship, or that emotionally wrenching time when one is ending)
• And a gazillion other things you could insert here

Some of us are going through one or two of these, some of us relate to every bullet. Around the holidays especially, it tends to pile up and feel weightier with what seems like everyone sharing how perfect their lives are on social media.

But I want you to know that whatever you are going through, you will get through. It might not be in the way you expect or hope, it might be in a different way altogether. But you are resilient and strong. And, while it might not always feel like it, there are people rooting for you.

On one of my darkest days three years ago, I opened an envelope and inside was this banner. It brought me to my knees. I had lost my home, my vehicles and possessions, hadn’t been to work in weeks dealing with tragedy, and had that very morning called in Hospice for my dying mother.

Yet someone believed in me.

Someone saw this and thought of me.

In no way did I believe that ‘I Got This’ at the time, but knowing that someone else thought I did, that they thought I could get through was motivation. And continues to be my motivation every day.

So this has become my mantra and I hope it becomes yours:

You've got this.

You've got it when you hear it can't be done.
You've got it when it feels like it's just too hard.
You've got it when unexpected shit happens and
you're not sure what the next step should be.

And, just so you know...
You've got me there to help in any way I can.

We've got this.