Editor’s note: This is the second installment in our Trucking As a Treatment Series about depression among truck drivers.

 For some people, life seems to be an uphill battle.

Aron Borzyskowski (pronounced Boar-za-cow-ski) is one of them. No matter how hard he tries, he simply can’t escape life’s challenges.

“The stupidest things happen to me and I can’t figure out why,” says Borzyskowski, a 12-year flatbedder for UPS Freight.

“For example, I had a 15-year-old girl run out in front of my truck and commit suicide. I’m that one in a million person who it happens to. I know I didn’t do anything to cause that, but I’m still working on closure, you could say.”

That was two years ago. Borzyskowski has battled depression ever since then. While moving on has at times been a struggle for him, Borzyskowski refuses to dwell on his depression, instead finding ways to relish the new promise each dawn brings.

How He Turns It Around

When he’s having a bad day, Borzyskowski simply commits to getting through it. “I get up the next day and have at it again,” he says. “As long as I get up, I’m halfway there.”

At other times, he loses himself in upbeat films and music, savoring the distraction.

But there’s one thing that lifts his spirits more reliably than anything—practicing kindness to others.

“Making people laugh is a big thing for me,” says Borzyskowski, who has 1.8 million safe miles to his name. “I’m always trying to make people laugh. You gotta laugh at yourself every once in a while, too. I also take that extra second to say ‘You’re welcome’ to people. I’ll hold the door or help someone who needs help carrying something to their truck. It always makes me feel better.”

Recently Borzyskowski even stopped to check on another driver who drove into a ditch.

“His lights were on, his wipers were on, so I stopped,” Borzyskowski says. “If I was in that situation, I would like someone to stop. I don’t understand why people don’t stop. We need to look after our fellow human beings.”

On hard days, things as simple as sharing a smile, honking his horn for a kid waving in a car, or carrying someone’s groceries fill Borzyskowski with joy that carries him through the day. He hopes others who suffer from depression can learn from his example and work to stay positive in the moment by practicing kindness.

“There is a solution for everything,” he asserts. “You can hash out family problems. You can rectify a bad day just by being kind to a stranger. When life kicks you, sometimes all you can do is get up and kick it right back.”

Borzyskowski, who is married with four kids, also reminds himself of his obligation to his family.

“You may be the world in somebody else’s eyes, and that’s where things really matter,” he says. “It could be a child, it could be a dog. But when you’re having a bad day, you have to remember that your life matters to someone.”

Check out the first story in our Trucking as a Treatment Series to learn how trucking itself has brought drivers out of their depression.

Life isn’t always easy. It’s how you respond to the hard times that sets you apart. Are you a driver who has committed to rising above life’s challenges? Connect with us here and tell us about it for the chance to be featured on Drive My Way.