№ 71: You Had A Sh*t Day But Tomorrow Is A New Day

I didn’t have the greatest start to 2023.

My emails were being ignored, offers rescinded, a bout of writer’s block, and I struggled to complete any climbing projects.

Pipe in a layer of never feeling enough, feeling behind, and financial struggles and what you’ve got is a tiramisu of anxiety. 

Yet, call me either delusional or optimistic, I finish each day with hope in my heart. 

All because of one little word: but. 

When I first learned how to write, I was taught the importance of but in stories. They’re connective tissues in any story (along with any other but synonyms). But signals change. The story heads in one direction, but now it’s heading in another. We did this, but now this new thing happened. 

All I have is but. 

You can be haemorrhaging money at the poker table, but you can still play well. 

You can be going broke, but you can keep sending emails to find new clients. 

You can be heartbroken, but you can still love yourself. 

You can fall off the climbing wall, but pick yourself up again. 

You can have your car stolen whilst visiting your girlfriend in London but stay in control of your emotions.  

It won’t fix things, but it’ll make life just that bit more bearable. It’s no magic potion advice, but sometimes it’s enough to put things back into perspective again. 

Our feelings depend on our interpretation of what is happening to us and around us. It is not so much what occurs but how we define events and respond that determines how we feel. 

Today is shit. 

But tomorrow will be sunshine.

— Jason Vu Nguyen