There is a difference between “giving up” and knowing when you have had enough. Giving up does not always mean one is weak; it could mean that you are strong enough and smart enough to let go.

Corona virus has taken over, not just our civil liberties but our entire lives. We should pause to reflect. Depression sets in when impossible hurdles seem to appear.

Despite what is happening around the world as we seek to gather the strength to bounce back, remember it was not always this way nor will it always be this way.

Depression is not a choice, though many would like to reduce it to that simple conclusion. For many it is easier to say my body aches when it is our minds that are failing.

Many indistinguishable wounds are as invisible as covid-19 itself. In times of selfimposed and government mandated seclusion, the process of “going it alone” is easier said than done. Often, we ache for somebody to reach out to us and say, “I know you are not okay; keep the faith anyway.

Depression is less about being friendless and more about having friends who simply do not care. While we defend ourselves by hiding our feelings, often our eyes betray us first… and our feelings follow.

Words like “broken, useless, confused, anxious, lonely, defeated, rejected, lost, abandoned and never feeling good enough” run through our minds. They are not.

Many things in life seem impossible until someone does them. We fall behind in our race in life only to bounce back and run faster. Quitters focus on the word quit in their vocabulary rather than asking how much more can I take?

Most of my “best laid plans” in life never worked out for me. One thing I learned from those disappointments: if the plan is failing, change the plan! Beats quitting.

The minute you are ready to quit could well be the moment before a miracle happens. Hang onto that hope. It might guide you in your next decision about how to get back up after getting kicked in the teeth. Confucius said: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” The Japanese put it differently: “Fall 7 times. Get up 8.” The fact is you might be the only person left who believes in you. But if not you, who?

Most of the important things that have happened in the world have been accomplished by folks who simply kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

I remember Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions. They had a terrific song they released in 1964 titled “Keep on Pushing!”

Perhaps the greatest weakness is “giving up.” Your dreams are yours. No one can shatter them without your permission. A single delay does not have to be a final defeat… unless you give up!

I grew up in a family of 11 children, all still alive and well. The one gift my parents taught us all: “Giving up is not an option. Find another way.”

It is not wanting to win that makes you a winner, it is refusing to quit.

Michael Aun is the author of “The Great Communicators”-Royal Publishing