Daily writing prompt

What’s a chapter of your life you’d title "The Hard Years" — and what got you through it?

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Actually, I don’t think “The Hard Years” end. They may phase. Some may be less difficult than others.

But there will always be difficult parts.

And “hard” is subjective. What may be difficult at the time could be a fond memory five years down the road.

Regardless, friends and family help. It’s the friendly nod from the drive-in person who knows your name. It’s the excitement of having a pet, or even of feeding a fish.

Familiarity, repetition, expectations, and reliability – habits (good and bad) – personal interactions (positive and negative) – and even remote online interactions.

These all provide the dopamine hits that just help drive us along.

But what really gets a person through the hard years is a sense of self.

Without that, a person doesn’t go on. They become a hormarculii or resident in a hole eight feet deep.