Welcome to Day 3 of 100 Day Writing Challenge.

A hill I will die on: life is designed to be a rollercoaster. It’s literally unavoidable that it will be a cycle of ups and downs. Some downs can be traumatic (unexpected death of a loved one) or much less extreme (a bumper bashing, an argument with your loved one, traffic). The ups also have a vast range, from exhilarating (birth of your child) to a bit of fun (call with your best friend, unexpected flowers).

If you are trying to optimise for a perfect, stable life you’re wasting your time. No such thing exists. Whatever the circumstances, if life is not moving you up and down emotionally, it simply means you’re bored. And even then, reality will soon catch up with you. In other words, there is no point in asking why life is so hard. It’s like asking why water is wet. It just is. Part of its inherent make-up.

For sure, some cycles are more brutal than others. But even the cycles are themselves cyclical. You might be going through hell right now, and when you get through it you will have some respite, where the “bad stuff” will be relatively mild. But rest assured, the brutality is coming around again.

So when you’re in a down (as I am now, temporarily) ask yourself: how deep is this down? Could it have been worse? Chances are, yep it could be. In which case…ride the down, and wait for the inevitable up. It’s coming. (And don’t forget to savour it when it arrives!)

Thanks for reading,