It’s a simple sentence, but something that, once put into context, completely changes the way you look at it. It is also one of the core principles of my life. But what exactly does it mean?

“Uncertain can be difficult, and life is uncertain.” — Sen

A = B and C = A. Hence, C = B. Life can be, and is, difficult, with no exception. Though one of the better things about life is its indiscriminate nature — it doesn’t care about status, wealth, gender, or race. If you’re alive, you participate in it.

Sometimes life can be particularly difficult. Living feels meaningless, and you don’t see a reasonable way out. Part of the reason a large portion of the internet has become a constant enforcement of escapism: endless doom-scrolling and fantasy novels. Leisure in itself is harmless, but I can’t say the same for a constant escapism loop.

Every addiction a person can have is linked to some form of escapism, and sometimes you’re forced to confront life due to circumstances. This, without exception, happens to everybody, even the ones who are particularly aware of all their problems. What makes it even worse at times is that difficult times can compound easily. Regret, past trauma, and despair can all make every single thought feel incredibly heavy.

And speaking to someone in these situations is often advised, but how can you speak about it when you yourself aren’t able to process it? Nobody can understand what you’re going through without them being in your exact mental space. A person saying “I understand what you’re going through” or “be strong” doesn’t seem convincing. That often makes you feel it’s pointless to talk about it. Every action you make seems to take an extra toll on your mind, and doing nothing makes it even worse. There is no correct thing to do.

You realize your situation is especially difficult, and the mental hurt is real — very much real. You may also realize there are other forms of the same depression experienced by other people, but not the same as yours. You realize you’re alone, and nothing you do may solve it immediately, or solve it ever.

So what do you do? This is often the place where people encounter common temptations, like ending it all. Almost everybody alive may have come across that thought, and some may have thought of it for long. The helplessness can be real, but I’ve personally come to realize that ending things is not the answer to difficulty. That is no doubt a strong thought, but there might be another option.

Maybe a glimpse of hope you have, maybe you don’t recognize. Maybe things can change in ways you don’t realize. So what can you do? You can try again. No need to think of an ideal version of life. You can always say: it’s one step at a time for me.

Try again tomorrow. Maybe journal extensively. Maybe try out things that you think are meaningless. You lose nothing. But as long as you’re alive, tomorrow there is still another chance. And every day is another chance. You don’t need to be reborn from a fresh slate to fix things, and you certainly don’t need to travel back in time. It’s simply not possible. But what you do have is another fresh day, and another fresh chance.

Life doesn’t block you from brute-forcing the way mobile phones do. There is no “Try again after 234 hours 30 min 12 sec.” XD And even if you’re not down in the dumps, the principle still helps you grow further — to take the chance and do that thing you wanted to. And that is the context behind Everyday Another Chance.