We all have something that seems just out of reach, just beyond our grasp. Whatever it is — you’ve got this.

To the 4-year-old who just wants to ride a bike like her 6-year-old sister, but despite being in training with dad running behind for the last two weeks (every night after work) the training wheels remain and this situation is getting old — even for a 4-year-old. 

Stick the course. You’re almost there. You’ve got this.

To the 12-year-old who just moved into a new town with a new school, who feels like he knows no one (because he doesn’t) and a new school at age 12 can be a tough circumstance to find yourself in — even if you are popular, which it’s hard to be when you know no one and have no friends. When your plight feels insurmountable please understand that it isn’t. 

Reach out to others. If someone smiles at you, smile back. You’ve got this. 

To the 17-year-old who longs for a date to prom, but feels too awkward or afraid to ask the girl or guy of their dreams because they seem cooler and smarter and more well-adjusted than you could ever hope to be. Don’t be deceived by appearances. Ask anyway. If you don’t, you may always regret your hesitance. 

No matter the answer, take control over your own situation. Go ahead, you’ve got this.

To the young parents who take turns changing diapers on two babies under 2-years-old after each spending 10-plus hours Monday through Friday at their individual careers who cringe because supper still hasn’t hit the table and there is laundry to fold and neither of you is sure who is more overwhelmed and a part of you both longs for the simpler days when it wasn’t so busy and so complicated and so exhausting. (Although you’d never say this out loud.) Your situation may seem permanent and daunting, but it is both and neither at the same time. 

Give yourself a break. Give each other a break. Clean laundry is over-rated, happy babies are not. You’ve got this.

To the 50-year-old who is tired. Tired of the career that seemed so inviting 25 years ago. To the concept of a mortgage that never seems to get paid off. To the idea of a marriage that’s grown cliché and nearly stale. To the perception of youth, which is becoming more distant each day. To the dismay at the thought of lost time and lost opportunities. 

Please know you’ve done well. You’ve created more good than you know. Grab onto what you have and don’t let go. Make your future the best it can be. You’ve got this.

To the 90-year-old who is unsure. Unsure if you are ready to keep living a good life or ready to give thanks for a good life well lived. Unsure if you are ready to move on to new things or to simply move on. 

Do not let age define you; only you get to define you and only you know what is right for your tomorrow. And whatever you decide you want and whatever that may bring: You’ve got this. (You always have.)

Life gives us challenges at every stage and it may seem tempting (easy even) to hit the eject button and escape from the toughest route. But our challenges define us. They help us grow. So let’s bring this full circle. 

To the baby — nine months old, new and unfamiliar with life’s challenges. You haven’t yet mastered the art of walking. But you try. You fall down. And you try again, and again. You might hit your head on the coffee table. You might cry. But at the first chance, you will pull yourself up. You are determined. You aren’t thwarted by disappointment or lack of muscle control. You just keep trying because you know in your heart one day you will walk.

You know something that perhaps the rest of us don’t. Maybe it’s something the rest of us have forgotten during the process of growing up. 

Babies know, they understand, that in order to walk you first have to fall down — many, many times. They know, inherently, that adversity is a part of life. That even when things seem hard or even insurmountable, we’ve got this. 

Each of us has got this. We have the power within to get this. We just have to stand up again and try to master the act of walking — one foot in front of the other.

To all you who are struggling — and in some ways we all are: You’ve got this. We’ve all got this. Together. One step at a time.

— Jill Pertler’s column Slices of Life appears regularly in the Times. She can be reached at jillpert@mediacombb.net.