I agree with your overall point. However, I think that there's also a sense in which to many people it is important to be able to succeed even if the success i

I agree with your overall point. However, I think that there's also a sense in which to many people it is important to be able to succeed even if the success itself isn't important. It's the classic "got something to prove" situation. I think that in many cases the process of proving themselves brings happiness. It reminds me of a quote I remember from an old article on T-Nation that goes something like "Its true that the majority of bodybuilders started due to some insecurity. However, its probably a lot healthier than the way that most people deal with their insecurity".