I am the cause of my failure And my success. I am a victim of my own shortfalls. I believe that if I saw myself as a victim then I would have an excuse to slack off on account of my perceived oppressor (s)

The attached link is to a short article about how it takes a ratio of 5 to 1 - 5 good or positive experiences to overcome 1 negative or bad experience. It's hardwired into us. There is much to be said for keeping a positive outlook; setting positive goals, keeping faith and hope. Once we give in to the "why me" complex we set ourselves into that downward spiral of chronic depression and hopelessness. We begin to see ourselves as "victims" rather than seeing ourselves as capable of and actively taking personal responsibility for our own lives and our own destiny.

Saying you're being victimized is an excuse. The Palestinians are professional victims. They make a lot of money out of this. I know being a white male it's easy to say this, but really, I know many minorities who have become extremely successful. Finally, although bad experiences are hard to swallow, a good one should erase all of them. My opinion.

Experiences don't cancel each other out. It is more efficient to just lose the "bad one" as quickly as you can scrub it out of your brain. This allows room for the "good ones". Ponder on the "bad one" until you know what the lesson was - then let it go.

Live and learn . Don't swim with the sharks