It’s amazing how life changes from one day to the next. We see it in the weather—damp and rainy one day and warm and sunny the next. We also see it in ourselves. Sometimes we wake up happy, feeling good, and excited about our daily adventures, while other days we struggle to keep our heads above water.

Life is this way sometimes. We take the good with the bad, and hope for more of the former. But as we tread along our paths, and walk the bumpy journey of life, it’s important to take each day in stride. A tough day at work does not define you. A relationship blunder doesn’t make you terrible at marriage. And a parenting goof doesn’t mean your kids think you’re the worst parent ever. These things do make you something, though. They make you human. And humans are allowed to make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from these mistakes, and to see what the hidden lesson is in all of it.

Can you take a step back from your experiences and look for the good? It might not be apparent right away. You might need to sit and stew for awhile—until you are able to settle down and see the situation for what it truly is. Or you might need to look at it from different angles until the “Aha!” comes. Once you’ve recognized the good in it, you’ll be able to learn from it and move on.

One thing in this world is certain: every morning, the sun will shine, and every evening, darkness will fall. Each morning when we rise, we have an opportunity to see life through a different set of eyes. We have the ability to grow and change. Because each morning is a fresh start. No matter how bad yesterday was—how sad it made you feel, how angry you became, how many tears fell—today is a do-over. It’s a second chance.

Life is like a series of intertwining rivers. Once we learn to go with the flow and move with the current, we will discover each day anew.