When you're feeling down after a rejection

During the last holiday break, I caught two colds. It's only fair. I caught very few illnesses the last few years and I dared to leave my house multiple times, so it was inevitable.

Despite being 38 years old and a fairly smart person, on day 3 of an illness I always think:

"I guess this is my life now. Better get used to coughing and sneezing all the time. Maybe I should stock up on tissues because I will certainly feel this way forever!"

Unsurprisingly, the cold doesn't go on forever. I don't live a new status quo of runny nose. But that mini freakout pops up every time.

It's not just with colds. When things get down, I get a rejection, or something else vaguely bad happens, that "this is my life now" thought crosses my mind.

This little tale is a reminder: It's not forever. If you're feeling overwhelmed by work, family, or anything else, it's not going to stay that way forever. If you're tired and counting down the minutes till you can nap, that's also not forever. If you haven't got a yes from an editor in a bit, that's not the new normal. It's just a weird now. And it's not forever.

I know this is obvious. But it's very obvious whenever I get a cold that I will not, in fact, have that very cold till the end of time.

So, if the reminder helps you, here it is again:

It's not forever.

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