'It's Not The Despair That Kills, It's The Hope'

It's not an original phrase, but it's one we can all identify with if we think about it...

Sometimes, letting go is easier than fighting on - to give in is often the easy option.

However we phrase it, we know the feeling.

But this isn't the place for philosophising on the subject of despair. What I want to talk about today is the difference between success and failure, between comparative wealth and poverty.

Between them and us.

Which side are you standing on? Do you see wealthy or successful people as 'them'? Does resentment of their success mask your own feelings of discomfort over your own failure?

If so, remember you took the easy option.

Because, just as it's often easier to give in to despair, so it's almost always easier to accept our lot and not strive for something better. Failure is so much more comfortable, so often the easier path to take. And if you think I'm being unfair to those people whose choices are restricted by circumstance, remember I said 'comparative wealth and poverty'.

And anyway, many of the most successful people - however you choose to measure, comparative or not - came from the most deprived backgrounds.

And how we respond to our circumstances is always a matter of choice.

The easy path is to do nothing, the harder one is to do something to make things better.

If you're at the early stage of a new career or building a new business, you'll know you haven't taken the easy option.

But, unless you're a quitter, you will know you have made the better choice.

Roy Everitt, Writing for Results