Ayyyyoooo, Monday. How was your weekending?

My weekend kicked off with a bridal shower for one of my best friends, then segued into front row at a Justin Timberlake concert (!!!), and today was full of shooting for le blog + hanging out with fam. A pretty *solid* weekend if ya ask me! Huuuuuuge shoutout to my friends at Verizon for the Verizon Up hookup at the JT concert; they have their own section literally *right* in front of the stage that’s exclusive to contest winners on their rewards app, and they had invited us to check out the fun – and no one says no to JT.

I know today’s post is titled “It Gets Better,” but it doesn’t really get better than Justin Timberlake…except technically it could have gotten better if JT had pulled your girl up on the stage for a personal serenade or something. I mean, I have been practicing my backup dancer skills since the 8th grade, and I really think I have what it takes. Or something like that. 😉

Moving onto Monday.

Ah, Monday.

Mondays got a bad rap. They’re that day name that’s always accompanied with an “UGH” or a sigh of dread. And everyone just waits in eager anticipation for any other day besides Monday, because any other day feels better than Mondaying does in that moment.

On Mondays, we can say, “it gets better.”

But sometimes life is harder than Mondays. Like, a lot harder. Real life has real sh*t. And when sh*t happens, sometimes we just need some semblance – ANY semblance – of hope to hold onto to remind us that maybe, just maybe, it gets better.

Because it’s foolish to say that hands down, without a doubt, no fail, guaranteed it gets better. Do we reaaaaally know if “it” will get better?

Not really – not technically. Life comes with few + far in between guarantees, so I’m not about to step up onto a lofty soapbox to say that no matter what you’re facing, regardless of what you’re experiencing, it will definitely get better.

But by the same token, we don’t reaaaaaally know if it WON’T get better. Our luck + fate + direction can change at literally any given moment for so many different reasons, and we just cannot fathom the bigger picture of our lives (that’s a job for only the Big Man Upstairs). It takes trust, it takes faith, it takes courage – and it takes hope. And sometimes, the only thing we can reasonably + realistically hold onto is the hope that it gets better.

It will, in time, get better.

Key #1: Don’t define “it.” It could be IT – the problem you’re facing, the mountain you’re climbing, etc. But IT could also be your strength, your adaptability, your tenacity. Your problem solving skills, your communication skills, or your creative thinking skills. It might feel like you’re at the bottom of a hole with no way out or up – and there just might be no worser feeling than that of hitting rock bottom.

But sometimes, we need rock bottom.

We need rock bottom for perspective + appreciation when we’re at the top.

We need rock bottom as a kick in the ass (when applicable) to get back on track.

We need rock bottom to remind us of how strong we really are.

And when we hit rock bottom, we need to remind ourselves that it gets better.

Because just when you think it can’t, it can. And just when you think it won’t, it will.

Key #2: Never lose hope. Before this starts sounding like a cheesy Hallmark classic, let’s just say it’s not that. The whole point is to acknowledge that hope really IS an essential ingredient to staying as positive as possible in even the most desperate or discouraging times.

Ever see The Shawshank Redemption?

It’s such a good, classic movie (you MUST see), with hope as a central theme. And this quote preeeeeetty much sums the whole shebang up:

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” 

No matter what you’re experiencing in your life right now, friends, I hope you feel encouraged + hopeful knowing that it gets better. It might get worse before it gets better, and it might not get better for a long time. But, it gets better.

Remember it, hold on it, never forget it.

It gets better – how are you holding onto hope this week?

I hope this encourages you to give yourself some grace + carry on, whatever your journey. And if you want slash need an extra dose of inspiration + motivation this morning, I hope these do the trick.

Now as for Monday – let’s do the damn thing. (Anyone else got a date with The Bachelorette tonight???)