Hey @chbartist great post. I agree with you on everything here and would like to elaborate on a couple of your points for your readers. I like the question you pose, "Why would they be called bad if there was anything good about them?. A point I would like to make in agreement with you is this, bad and good are subjective concepts. For example, imagine a billionaire losing $10,000. Most likely they wouldn't give it a second thought. It may not be ideal in their mind but they most likely wouldn't look at it as a bad thing. However, if an average man with a wife, two kids, mortgage, car payment, etc. were to lose $10,000 they most likely would perceive it as being devastating. And all because of their particular view on it which changes for everyone. I think its important for both your readers and mine to remember that concepts like good or bad, concepts that are subjective, that aren't the same for everyone, really hold no weight or value other than what we give them. So a major step in changing ones life for the better is simply to monitor what you give weight/importance/value to.

I also wanted to touch on another thing you said which I very much agree with. You mentioned a quote by Herbie Hancock (a great one by the way) and added that you've come to accept that there is no such thing as an easy life. Early in my military career, in order to help persevere certain training I was going through at the time, I knew I needed to tell myself something to keep pushing me through the pain and adversity. So I came up with the mantra (feel free to use this as well) An easy life is an empty life. That mantra kept me going through numerous times in my life as a reminder that there is nothing to learn when travelling the safe road and that everything I had in my life that I loved and cared for was earned through hard work. Anyway, thanks for a great post. You got my upvote and I'll be following you immediately to read more of what you post. Take care and be well.
GG