Sometimes down time at the end of the day looks a lot like sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch, laptops open, tying up loose ends that have been worn and frayed from a day of hurry and runaround. Sometimes date night looks a lot like staring at each other over two half-empty cocktails, shrinking under the weight of all the whys that we can’t answer. Sometimes boundaries are not firm at all, but rather soft and malleable; thin lines drawn by a shaky, dull pencil. Sometimes life is about, simply, trying. Doing the best you can right where you are.

There’s a lot of talk of shoulds in this World. And that’s just fine. But don’t let the shoulds make you feel like your best isn’t good enough. It is. Your best, my friend, is more than good enough, and a virtual high-five to you for putting it out there. And it’s ok if your best is sometimes a weak shadow of your goals. At least you’re trying. At least you’re in it, digging in, giving what you’ve got in the moment. It’s risky, it takes vulnerability, and sometimes we fall on our faces. But that’s all you can do. That’s all anyone can do.

It’s not always pretty (actually, sometimes it’s downright ugly). It’s almost never neat and tidy. But it is real. And real is all we have at the end of the day. So be you. Try, and fall short of your goals. Hustle and fail. Don’t let the shoulds eat you alive. Don’t let someone else’s version of right keep you from putting your true self out there.

Your best is all you’ve got, so give that – always, always give that – and rest easy knowing that it’s enough, even when it feels like you should be doing more.