People’s ability to keep up their spirits is being put to the test everyday. Health concerns, job concerns, and disruptions to day-to-day routines have combined to create a challenging situation for people throughout the world.

But for anyone wondering whether they can persevere through these difficult times, it’s important to keep something in mind – others are likely counting on you.

I recently had a first hand look at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Saint Anthony’s. I started having respiratory symptoms and other signs a few weeks ago that made me think I was infected. Turns out I was negative for Covid, but had other serious respiratory issues that forced me to play dodgeball with the grim reaper for a couple of days. The doctors said I was lucky, “the pulmonary emboli event that I experienced kills many.” So I got that goin’ for me. 

I was bounced from the Covid Unit to the regular ICU and then on to a floor with a flurry of nurses popping in and out to monitor my condition. I spent day after day isolated in the hospital with an army of strangers poking, and prodding. This type of isolation is difficult, to say the least. Contemplating mortality, I slipped into a depressive state before I realized  what was happening.

Last week, I was released and came home to my loving wife, family and sanctuary. At that moment I realized I needed to find strength to carry on. Life will get back to some degree of normalcy. I will beat this and once again toast to our health at the dinner table.

One thing I took away from this brush with death is, anytime you are in a tough place in life or in business, when you feel as if you cannot go on, step back and look at the world around you. Look for the simple things in life that make it all worth it. You can summon energy from knowing you must persevere. You need to carry the load so others can succeed along with you. Whether it’s your employees, your co-workers or your family, you do not want to let them down.

People have inside themselves the capability to develop the kind of perseverance that will see them through the world’s current health and economic crisis – and through future crises we are certain to encounter.

The one major thing that I’ve learned about perseverance is that we can all become mentally tougher. In the end, the only thing that makes a person give up and quit are the thoughts that drive their final behavior; it’s all about mental fatigue. The question to ask yourself is this: Do I have the grit to overcome that fatigue?

I want to thank everyone for their support and understanding as we work through these tough times as an independent publication. Our goal is to persevere! 

We need to cut back on our print schedule and have decided to publish a print edition every other week through May. We will be updating our website often, so please take a minute to visit us online at winterparktimes.com.