I heard a parable that helped me recently. I was listening to a shmuz by Rav Shafier about the tests we have in life, and he gave the mashal of two bikers that you see pass you. One guy, barely breaking a sweat, is cruising along, wind in his hair, no struggle at all, enjoying life, speeding by. The other, is struggling greatly, sweating, panting, and you can see the pain on his face. Normally, everyone assumes the 1st guy is the better biker. The only difference is, that the 1st guy is going downhill and the 2nd guy is going uphill.... Bottom line, it's the trying that counts.