Sometimes we downplay what we’ve lived through because we’re too close to it to see it clearly.
We think, “Other people have had it worse,” or “It’s not a big deal anymore.” But the truth is, if you’ve faced certain experiences, you’ve been carrying more than you probably realise. These life experiences prove you’ve been through a lot, whether you give yourself credit for it yet or not. Not only did you survive, you’ve found a way to thrive, and that’s an incredible feat of strength and resilience.
1. You’ve had to rebuild your life after losing something or someone important.
Loss comes in so many forms—death, breakups, job loss, identity changes—and each one leaves its own kind of scar. If you’ve ever had to pick up the pieces of a life that no longer made sense, you’ve survived something enormous. Rebuilding takes a kind of strength that isn’t flashy. It’s quiet, lonely, and often invisible to everyone else. However, every small step forward you’ve taken counts more than you probably realise.
2. You’ve been let down by people you trusted.
Betrayal, abandonment, disappointment—whatever the form, losing trust in someone you counted on cuts deep. It’s not just the loss of a relationship; it’s the loss of safety, of certainty, of the belief that people will do what they say. If you’ve kept your heart open after being let down—or even if you’re still learning how to—you’re carrying resilience in your chest that can’t be taught, only earned.
3. You’ve lived through a season of deep loneliness.
Loneliness isn’t just about being alone—it’s about feeling unseen, unheard, disconnected even in a crowded room. If you’ve gone through a time when you felt invisible to the world around you, you know how heavy that emptiness can get. Surviving loneliness changes you. It teaches you how to sit with yourself, how to carry your own company, even when it’s the last thing you wanted to learn.
4. You’ve had to heal from things you never got an apology for.
Waiting for closure that never comes can feel like walking around with an open wound no one else even acknowledges. If you’ve had to give yourself the closure someone else should have given you, you know the brutal work of self-healing. It’s hard. It’s unfair. However, it also builds a kind of inner peace that’s unshakeable because it’s rooted in your own strength, not someone else’s permission.
5. You’ve chosen to walk away from something that was slowly breaking you.
Leaving a toxic relationship, quitting a draining job, stepping away from a place that once felt like home—it’s not easy. That’s especially true when the outside world doesn’t understand why you couldn’t just “stick it out.” Choosing yourself after months or years of quiet suffering is one of the bravest things you can do. It means you refused to keep shrinking just to make other people comfortable.
6. You’ve started over when you didn’t know how it would turn out.
Starting over isn’t glamorous. It’s terrifying, humbling, and filled with moments where you wonder if you made a huge mistake. If you’ve ever stepped into the unknown without a safety net, you’ve carried a kind of courage most people don’t see from the outside. You moved forward anyway, even when everything inside you begged for guarantees. That willingness to bet on yourself matters more than you might think.
7. You’ve dealt with invisible struggles no one else saw.
Chronic illness, mental health battles, grief carried silently—if you’ve fought wars inside your own head or body that the world never noticed, you know how exhausting it is to live with invisible pain. Just surviving those days and showing up for life anyway takes a level of strength that deserves to be named and honoured, even if no one else ever saw the fight you were in.
8. You’ve had to be your own biggest supporter.
There are times when the encouragement you need simply doesn’t come from anyone else. If you’ve learned how to be your own cheerleader, your own comfort, your own motivator, you’ve survived something most people aren’t even taught how to do. Self-support isn’t about toxic independence—it’s about knowing you can hold yourself through hard things when you have to, and that’s a power no one can take from you.
9. You’ve had your heart broken and still chose to love again.
Getting your heart broken can make you want to shut down completely. If you’ve ever taken the risk of letting someone in again after being hurt, you’ve done something incredibly brave without even realising it. Choosing vulnerability after pain isn’t foolish—it’s a radical act of hope. It means you believed in the possibility of connection, even when your past gave you every reason not to.
10. You’ve survived periods of uncertainty without giving up on yourself.
Uncertainty can feel like walking through fog without a map. If you’ve kept going even when you had no idea what the next step should be, you’ve shown a kind of faith in yourself that most people don’t talk about. It’s easy to celebrate persistence when the path is clear. It’s another thing entirely to keep moving when every direction feels wrong, and you’re moving on hope alone.
11. You’ve had to forgive yourself for not being perfect.
Self-forgiveness doesn’t come easy. If you’ve ever looked back at a decision, a relationship, or a missed opportunity and chosen to be kind to yourself instead of spiralling into shame, you’ve done real emotional work. Forgiving yourself doesn’t mean forgetting or excusing. It means letting yourself be human, which is harder and braver than most people give it credit for.
12. You’ve faced moments when you questioned your own worth, and found your way back.
Self-doubt can feel like drowning. If you’ve ever sat in the darkest parts of your mind, questioning your value, your direction, or your future—and still found a way to believe in yourself again—you’ve survived more than most people will ever know. Finding your way back to yourself after losing faith is quiet, gritty work. If you’ve done it even once, it proves you’re stronger than the doubts that tried to break you.
13. You’ve learned how to live with parts of yourself that once scared you.
Growth isn’t just about getting better—it’s about making peace with the parts of yourself you used to want to erase. If you’ve learned to sit with your flaws, your fears, your regrets without running from them, you’ve earned a kind of wisdom no one can fake. Wholeness isn’t about perfection. It’s about honesty. And if you’re learning to live with all of yourself, light and dark, you’ve officially been through a lot, and you’re doing better than you think.
