Yes, Even as an Empath, You Can do Hard Things
Fellow empaths of the world, 2020 has been… rough, to say the least. If you’re an empath (AKA, the kind of person who feels everything extra deeply, and/or finds themselves being highly perceptible to others’ emotional states, etc), then this year has been a challenge. From all the doom and gloom in the news and our communities to the seeming “this-will-never-end”-ness of it all, you find yourself asking, “HOW am I supposed to get through this?” Well, empath, I have a simple yet powerful secret to tell you— a truth that’s helped me, an empath myself, many a time— “you CAN do hard things.”
Me, in a moment when I felt happy and strong. Through mental illness struggles, body-image issues, and many other things I don’t wish to discuss currently, I’m still here. I still got this. I can still find and make joy. I can do hard things, and so can you!
You can do hard things. You can get through this.
Just think about it. The world has never been a perfect (or even ideal) place, but you’ve survived 100% of your worst days. The human race has weathered The Great Depression, World Wars, plagues, and much worse in many cases— and in many ways, the world has gradually become a better place. We’ve persevered, we’ve made it through.
I’m not saying any of those things were good things— they certainly were not. I am saying, though, that even when the world is scary and all too real, we have found ways to overcome, persevere, and gradually (though not always linearly) make the world a better place for all of us to be in the end.
Perhaps this year’s focus on public health will create a new era of health-consciousness and caring. Perhaps this year’s focus on fighting for what’s right and creating a more equitable society for everyone will actually shape and mold policies, ideas, and activism for years to come. Perhaps you’ll survive it all, and live to see the beautiful, better world on the other side. In fact, I know you will. I believe you will. I believe I will, and that somehow, even though this year has been full of pain and difficulty for so many, we will come out on the other side better for it, in the end.
This may all sound cliche, but I needed the reminder as much as anyone. Empaths, take heart and always remember— even in a year as crazy as 2020, you can do hard things. You got this.
Xoxo, MM.