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When I was in my teenage years, I didn’t always make the best decisions. But one of the more foolish decisions I ever made taught me an important lesson about the value of doing hard things.

It was a crisp, cold morning in Shell Lake, Wisconsin when school had been called off due to high wind chills and below freezing temperatures. I woke up with the intention of staying inside and enjoying the day off, but that all changed when my oldest brother came up with the idea of walking across the frozen lake.

He had his eyes set on an island, that was about a five-mile trek across the frozen, snow covered body of water. I still recall looking at the sunshine reflecting off the shiny, white snow and thinking “it actually looks pretty nice out.”

I was just a freshman in high school and we had just moved from ice cold North Dakota to Wisconsin, so I didn’t think the walk would be that big of a deal.

We bundled up as well as we could, with layers of clothes, snow pants, boots and face-masks, but after about three miles of walking into the freezing wind, I was already regretting the decision. The closer we got to the island, which was really just a small patch of trees off the shore of the lake, the more I felt that I was risking my life to be out in the open on a day when school had been called off due to high wind chills.

Less than a mile from the island, I gave in as I turned around and trekked back towards home —alone. My brother continued chasing the island and he later bragged to me about how he warmed up and recovered there as the trees sheltered him from the piercing winter blasts.

As I headed back home, I could feel my boots freezing to my legs and my face felt like it was going to fall off.

Still, I continued.

I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make it home or not, but I wasn’t going to stop and rest. There was too great a risk of not being able to get up again.

I had completely forgotten about the island and my brother and I was now completely focused on staying alive.

The only things on my mind were my next breath and my next step. In a way, it was a calming feeling.

I felt like I had taken a time machine back to the days before technology when survival was a daily struggle and nature could humble you faster than you could realize it was coming. Eventually, I stopped being afraid and resigned myself to whatever awaited me.

Still, I continued.

Before I knew it, I started to see the familiar landmarks of my family home. I could see our dock covered in snow in our back yard and I could see a trace of our house amongst the trees.

I was going to make it!

Once I got into the house, I ran into the bathroom and laid next to the heater to thaw out my clothes. It took about 15 minutes for me to able to get the ice off of my boots and take them off. After a long, hot shower I felt like I had done something vastly important.

In a way, I had. I took on a great challenge and I walked away victorious. I wasn’t even that upset when my brother strolled in with swagger as he talked about how he wasn’t that cold after warming up on the island.

Although I still do enjoy reasonable walks on Austin’s coldest winter days, I don’t tell this story to encourage anyone to put their life at risk when the weather turns brutal. I tell it to remind you all that the best solution to negative thoughts or low self confidence is sometimes as simple as accomplishing a task that we deem difficult.

By overcoming tough situations, we train our brains to keep fighting and the struggle to survive reminds us not take our lives for granted.

As we roll into winter and the holiday season, many of us will be battling with seasonal depression. The shorter days and the family gatherings sometimes encourage our minds to slip into regret, despair and surrender. I ask that you all find ways to challenge yourselves and don’t give into the dark feelings.

Even if things start to look bleak, you will continue!