It Takes Courage To Reclaim Your Joy—So Be Brave
'I hope you remember that life will always be full of bad days, challenges, and failures, but you don’t have to give them the space to overtake your life.'
Welcome to the Collective World X Thought Catalog Newsletter. Collective World is a one-of-a-kind creative network powered by the minds and voices behind The Thought & Expression Company. We’re so glad you’re here.
The bravest people are the ones who choose to be easy on themselves during the hard times. The people who do not beat themselves over their mistakes or assume that one small failure means that they aren’t good enough to succeed. It takes courage to give yourself grace, to understand your own humanity and be unafraid to own it.
The bravest people are the ones who have a bad day, then wake up the next morning optimistic that this one will be better. The people who make an effort not to assume the worst and who believe, deep down, that better things are coming. It takes courage to fight against the darkness and keep moving toward the light.
The bravest people are the people who understand that laughter is the best medicine. The people who know that they can’t control everything, that there will inevitably be moments of hurt and heartbreak, but who also know that they can still find nuggets of joy along the way. It takes courage to look at the difficulties you face and say, “You do not get to control every emotion I feel right now.”
The bravest people are the ones who know that life may be serious, but there’s room for silliness too. The people who know that there is value in indulging their inner child, who understand that it’s important to spend time with people who bring out the brighter sides of them. It takes courage to prioritize the things that make you happy, even if they’re things that others deem silly or unimportant.
I hope you remember that life will always be full of bad days, of challenges, of failures, but you don’t have to give them the space to overtake your life. And I hope that when you’re given the choice, you find the courage to take back your joy, one moment at a time.
What We’re Reading This Week 📖💛
“When I talk about unremarkable traumas—my sexual assault as a young woman, harassment in the workplace, abusive relationships—I speak as if they already believe me. Because why shouldn’t they give me the benefit of the doubt?” — Jen Corrigan
“Someone who loves you would ask nothing from you but for you to be okay.” — Libby Pumo
“The fact that the monomaniacal obsession with unveiling women’s falseness is itself so often based on false pretenses would be boring were it not potentially fatal: for many suspicious husbands, lovers, and readers in literature and life, the only way to make sure a woman isn’t false is to make sure she’s not anything at all.” — Katie Kadue
“If you want to love deeply and love your work passionately, there will be a lot of difficulty and pain and struggle along the way. You will have to grow every fucking day.” — Heather Havrilesky
For more reading recommendations follow Quote Catalog where we find and file the best things to read every single day.
Let us leave you with this:
“Life is far too serious to take seriously, and sometimes the bravest thing you can do is laugh.” — Dr. Jeremy Goldberg
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