What a sucker I am!”
I have a feeling that there’s no way you’d wish to trade places with him.
Ironically, the childhood friend I was referring to above would probably NOT want to trade places with me. However, if he could only know the self-esteem, happiness and satisfaction gained by achieving success on one's own, he would never have chosen to waste his own life.
That is what is wrong with our welfare-based society. By removing hardship, you take away the initiative to get out there and make something of yourself. Has anybody ever seen a welfare recipient who truly was happy? True happiness can only be derived from within and nothing feels better than to overcome some adversity to make something of yourself.