There are cases where depression is related to a sense of not having achieved what one wants to achieved, or acquired what one wants to acquire. Thus, for many people being depressed is related to a sense of failure. Whether “failure” preceded depression, or feelings of failure are a symptom of depression is like asking which one came first: the chicken or the egg. In this case, the answer is highly personal.

However, feelings of failure, or generally negative feelings about our lives are strongly related to how we perceive our life. Perception is after all reality, and people who inherently have a positive attitude are less likely to feel - or become - depressed. To show you how perception can change someone’s attitude, and how easily the same situation can be perceived in two very radically different ways, I found a very interesting inspirational story on the inspirational journal.com, which I will quote here:

One day a father and his rich family took his son to a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son,

“How was the trip?”

“Very good Dad!”

“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked.

“Yeah!”

“And what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars.

Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon.” When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!”

Isn’t it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life - you’ve got everything!