Unless you're in prison for murder or mayhem, it's hard to say anyone is a "failure."

At most, you haven't found an arrangement that works for you.

The American Dream, for example, or parts thereof, is a perfectly good set of goals. Whatever your chosen career, is a perfectly good goal. But if you couldn't make that happen, there are lots of other ways to be satisfied, and to contribute.

I've been under employed, and went on Medicaid for actual survival (diabetes). I wasn't a failure, I was just in a very unpleasant situation.

The key to my change in happiness and outlook was to accept that who I thought I was, was no longer true, but something new and different was just fine.

Sometimes the tragedy is living in someone else's rut, even after that rut has run out.