I understand it as "I know the situation is hard, but try to keep your head up (don't do anything extreme) because things will get better if you fight for it"
Yea i agree, but i'm not debating the meaning, rather the delivery. I really like the phrase, "you are not your work", because it comes from the opposite direction. To "stay strong" it sounds like you're not acknowledging that it's ok to be 'not strong'.
