I’m probably considered “successful”. I make good money, I’ve got two great kids, I don’t have more debt than I can handle, I’ve been in my job for ten years. I was just diagnosed a month or so ago after years trying to control depression and anxiety. My daughter’s ADHD was caught about two years ago, and when my sister was diagnosed a few months back, that was my lightbulb moment that maybe there was something else going on with me (Did anyone else think that having a redbull to help you sleep was completely normal?).
The plain fact is that I got lucky. I had a kid at 16 and dropped out of high school. I got an entry level job a few years later in a tech support department I had no qualifications for (family friend knew I was good with computers, figured I could answer the phone without screwing up too hard). Turns out, having a new and different problem to work on every 20 minutes was a good fit for me and I got promoted a few times.
If not for that lucky break I would most definitely be working for minimum wage and struggling to get by. I think it’s important to recognize luck when it comes to us. I do work hard and I am good at what I do, but without lucking into that job ten years ago I don’t know how I could have managed. I know a lot of people who work hard and have university degrees that work a cash register because life hasn’t given them the right opportunities.
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