Let's face it, life is plain hard sometimes. We get bogged down and stressed. We deal with failure and insecurity. We have unexpected emergencies and losses, sickness and anxiety...so many things can make life difficult. These things drain us. They strain our closest relationships. We become weary from pushing through. Weary from arguing with each other. There is so much weariness when life is hard and pushing through can seem nearly impossible.

Recently, I heard something on the radio that was such an encouragement in this.The DJ was talking about what different Patriots players said after they won the Super Bowl. When asked what changed after halftime they said they just decided to keep believing in one another. Brady said that they just had to make a decision to keep fighting, even though it felt hopeless and hard. The guy on the radio related that back to life, and here is my addition to that.

Things are up and down in life, and we all have rough patches. It can be so easy to push away those we most care about when we are in these situations. Frustration from whatever stress we are experiencing spills into our closest relationships, and we lash out and become hurtful. The awesome thing is that it does not end there! To get through and come out stronger, we have to keep believing in each other through the good and the bad. We have to make a concerted effort to push into each other, rather than pushing each other away.

Along with that, we just have to keep fighting. Even when it's hard. Even when it hurts. And that's a choice we have to make. Individually. Together. Collectively. It's about changing our mindset. It's about focusing on the good and fighting through the bad. It's about believing in ourselves and in others. It's about not giving up.