The world is a hard place to live. There are massacres, disasters both man-made and natural, there is hatred for one another, murder, misfortune. Everyone falls down at some point. But just as the great Rocky Balboa said,

"It's not about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep going."

The world will hit hard and there will be events happening to you and to the world around you, making you question everything you thought you knew.

But, honestly, you're doing better than you think you are.

You're picking yourself up, brushing yourself off, continuing to move forward. Even if you haven't gotten to brushing yourself off quite yet, you're still crawling towards the promise of something better.

Maybe your fortune has been nothing but good lately and life is the best it has ever been. Good. Embrace it and love every moment of it. Juice these moments for all they are.

Work hard but don't overwork yourself to the point of burnout, and work hard enough to know that you will see results whether that be in the office, at the gym, or in class. Prove yourself to yourself and don't give up.

You're doing better than you think.

As human beings, we are always pushing ourselves and questioning our decisions. Am I working too much? Am I not working enough? Do I need a new job? Should I quit my job? Am I doing enough with my summer vacation? Should I have taken a class or two? Am I behind? Why don't I understand as much as they do?

Constantly doubting ourselves is a part of creating a beautiful life. If all of the answers were clear to us, what would the point be?

You're doing better than you think.

And I know you're doing better than you think you are because every day I see people who help other people, the sun comes up (even if it's behind storm clouds), little kids play on the beach in the wake of an oncoming storm, flowers grow, vegetables feed, homeless shelters exist, fundraisers fuel otherwise impossible projects, people give money to people they don't know.

You're doing better than you think because you've done this before, you've spent time thinking about the world around you and contemplating your decisions. You've come to conclusion after conclusion, only to find that the conclusions you have come to are just deeper questions. You've struggled, you've lived fully, you've experienced some of the happiest moments of your life.

You're doing better than you think because you have a favorite song and when it comes on in the car you turn it up and open your windows so that you can yell with the singer as if you were truly recorded on the track, you've seen live music, you've saved a crowd surfer, or maybe you've never seen live music and have only dreamed of doing these things. Well, you're doing better than you think because you're a dreamer.

You're doing better than you think because you're not giving up. You're pushing forward through adversity. You're taking the negativity in the world and in your life and you're using it, transforming it into love and goodness, and putting it back out into the world.

You're doing better than you think because you'll never give yourself enough credit for all you do. You will constantly push yourself to be better and better without regard for yourself and you will change the world.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.