As a single mother, I've been asked the same question a lot: "how do you do it?" I normally respond with the simplest answer: "You've just got to do what you've got to do." Maybe I should elaborate on how I make it through the bad days.

1. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

I hit an all-time low a few years ago. I was so depressed that you'd think that brushing my teeth was like running a 5k. One of the worst days of my life, I looked around and wondered how everyone could continue on living their lives while I was so miserable. I needed someone to come pat my back and listen to me vent. I finally realized that I wasn't always going to have that. The more I allowed myself to be upset, the more I was sucking at life. When I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I pushed myself to get out of bed and try to do better. Eventually, the self-pity disappeared. I occasionally look at the situation I'm in and think that I've got it bad. I push that thought from my head. 99% of the people you know honestly don't care how you feel or what you're going through. Your well-being matters most to you, so distance yourself from self-pity and embrace self-empowerment. Stop giving yourself the ability to shut down. Doing this will get you to the start/finish line.

2. Own what you do.

Don't ever question if what you're doing is good enough. Aim to be the very best, like no one ever was. However, know that you are just as un-perfect as every other soul on this planet. You'll make mistakes, sometimes small, insignificant ones, other times they'll be large, ugly, and disastrous. That's okay; we all do it. But whenever you turn in that essay, go to ask your boss for a promotion, or ask your crush out on a date, do it well. Do it right. When you walk away from it, know that you rocked it. "Take pride in your work." Don't scrape by with the bare minimum anymore, give every ounce of your passion to everything you do. Trust me - it pays off. Confidence is the key that unlocks success.

3. Wake up early, and stay ahead.

I know, you just rolled your eyes. Who likes to get up early? Anyone that does it regularly is who. If you wake up early and get what you need to do done before all the late-risers show up, your day goes much smoother. The people you deal with will be nicer since the day hasn't drained them of their kindness yet. You'll be able to get more done. You won't be in a rush. Even if you're still tired, grab a cup of coffee and get after the day! If you get ahead with your paperwork, school assignments, or just plain old life in general (scheduling doctor's appointments, fixing that leaky pipe before it bursts, throwing some extra cash into your emergency fund, etc.) then your days won't be so stressful. If you think one step ahead of everything, when something happens that is a total emergency, like breaking your leg or wrecking your car, you'll be as prepared as humanly possible, and your preparedness will make a bad situation a little better. I wonder if Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, or Peyton Manning sleep until lunch? I doubt it.

4. Stop caring about friends.

I can't stress that enough. 99% of your friends won't be there forever. When I found out I was pregnant, I lost the handful of friends that I had. Some of those people had been my friend for my entire life. Some I had just met a few months before. As the sole parent of my son, I've learned that someone that you trust fully will leave you to your own devices in a heartbeat. And you know what? Screw them. Screw all of them. By all means, have fun with your friends. Most of them don't have bad intentions. But don't put every ounce of your trust into other people. Put all of your trust into yourself. Know that whatever you do in this life, you are fully capable of doing it alone. If you stop investing all of your time and energy into friendships and devote a little more of it to yourself, you'll be amazed at how much better of a person you'll be. I value my few friendships a lot, but I also know that more than likely, they will fade out like the ones before. I enjoy them and cherish them, but I don't depend on them to survive.

5. Cut out the things that annoy you.

Does your hair get in your eyes a lot? Cut it. Is your notebook always falling apart? Trash it. Is your phone's ringtone awful? Change it. These little things add up quickly. I learned that all three of these things, as well as more than 100 others, were making my days rough. Now, I love fixing those minor annoyances. If something doesn't work right, I trash it or fix it on the spot. If something makes me as frustrated as fingernails on a chalkboard, I get rid of it. These itty-bitty things can annoy you to the point of no return. If you get rid of them, your day will have a much better tone to it. It sets you up to have a great day when everything around you is working for you, not against you.

6. Don't ever see anything as a roadblock.

Nothing is an obstacle, absolutely nothing. I never think that things are standing against me. Sure, I'm a single mom in college and run on four hours of sleep every day. It's not easy. It would be easier to manage coursework if I wasn't a mom. But, there's no sense in flooding your mind with hypothetical situations. Your situation is yours, and, like I said before, own it. Instead of seeing my son as a roadblock, I see him as a bump-draft. He pushes me to be successful. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have a reason to get up and go every day. The same goes for everyone. Stop seeing those "obstacles" as obstacles. See them as the driving force that will push you over the finish line. So what if you flunked math? So what if you have to struggle paycheck to paycheck? So what if no one believes in you? So what if every statistic says you can't do it? Trust me, dear, you can.

Never let anything stand in your way.

Anytime you think that something is holding you back, simply changing your perspective on it can change your life. Have a positive outlook. When your perfectly planned world comes crashing down, rise from the ashes and get at it twice as hard. A success story is boring if there isn't a plot, an accomplishment is meaningless without a little controversy, and a victory lane speech is nothing if you didn't have to push a little.