In today’s hectic twenty-four hour work-a-day life people suffer from many things, ranging from stress to ulcers, to bad knees (from wearing high heels all the time!). Bad backs aren’t all that uncommon either, and if you wait around long enough you’ll be bound to see and hear your fair share about anxiety disorders, heartburn, strokes and even migraines. And let’s not forget the ever popular cold and flu viruses that always seem to be making the rounds. There is one thing however that does the rounds more often than you might realize, but always seems to be overlooked or passed off lightly, and that’s depression. If you suffer from depression and don’t get a proper medical diagnosis telling you that you suffer from Medical Depression, people just won’t believe you, and will think you’re just being silly.

Depression however is a very serious thing and should be treated as such, not pushed to a side as being all in the person’s mind. Unfortunately unless you get an opinion that’s medical depression is generally treated as something to be overlooked and ignored, and not as a serious medical and mental disorder.

It’s also true however, that most people suffer from depression at some point or other in their lives, but this doesn’t necessarily have to cast them as having medical depression. That is, when most people get depressed it will last perhaps only a few hours or even a few days, and in some cases might even last as long as a week or two. It’s only when this depression continues unabated for more than two weeks sometimes even going so far as to last perhaps up to six months however, that depression can be classed in terms of medical depression.

The reason that doctors need to be certain that the person really does suffer from depression is entirely due to the fact that depression can be treated successfully with either prescription drugs, or a combination of drugs and therapy. If you’re only suffering from a mild form of depression which lasts only for a short while then your doctor really wouldn’t want to be prescribing anti-depressant drugs to you.

However if you do suffer from depression and it’s lasted more than a month or two, even if it’s not there with you constantly, you should always consult your doctor as he can then tell you unequivocally whether you’re suffering from a form of medical depression or just the everyday normal get-you-down blues. Remember that this type of depression is completely normal and that most people suffer from it at least once in their lives. It’s a natural reaction to given situations and is a coping mechanism that allows us to live our lives to the fullest, so don’t lose heart.

One key to helping yourself be a winner is to focus on a mindset that eliminates the element of competition. The problem with focusing on competition and making yourself a winner is that someone then has to lose. However if you focus instead on creating a win-win situation then not only will you be a winner then your success will foster the success of others and others’ success will help foster your success.

While so much of our society is focused on competition and winning at all costs, this is ultimately a very destructive mindset. A team that works together is always stronger than a group of individuals only out for their individual purposes. If you can apply this principle to every aspect of your life then you can achieve tremendous success.

The truth is that if you set up competition in most areas of your life then you lose even when you win. For example, if you “win” an argument with your spouse what do you gain and what do you lose? Perhaps you scored the most points in the argument or simply wore down your significant other until they gave in. Now you have your way regarding your weekend plans or whatever was at stake. But what damage has been done to your relationship? How does your spouse feel about you? How will he or she feel as they participate in the activity you won? How much damage will accumulate to your relationship if you win the next argument? And the next?

The same is true about competition in other areas of your life. If you win a competition at work then you may reap benefits in term of recognition and even monetary rewards. But if your win comes at the cost of your co-workers then not only will they feel like losers but they may well resent your success. How well will you work together as a team in the future? What will happen when you need those people to work with you on a project?

So what is the alternative? After all, no one wants to be a loser and the perception is that if you are not a winner then you are a loser. But what if you can create a situation where everyone wins? What if you can eliminate the competition? Remember, your short term win is a long term lose if it damages your relationship with your spouse, child, co-worker, or friend.

How do you create a win-win situation? You have to keep your long-term goals in mind for that relationship which may mean that you need to remind yourself and reaffirm to the others involved that you value yourself and the other person (or people involved). You also need the maturity to strike a balance between strength of purpose and empathy. Finally, you need to believe that there is enough success for everyone. You need to be a big enough person to understand that there is more than enough for everyone so it does not cost you to share in the success. Helping or allowing another to succeed will not diminish your success and in fact may well enhance it.

Making the decision to change your mindset from win-lose to win-win is not easy and then following through with that philosophy change can be extremely difficult. Most of us have been conditioned from early childhood to compete in every aspect of our lives. However once you give up that competitive edge and focus on helping everyone win then you will be on a sure path to success in life.

Do you wish for more success in your life? Whether it is professionally or personally we all wish we could master success. That is why the self help industry is such a profitable market. What makes personal development so difficult for us all is that it really is not something we can get from someone else. In the end it comes down to what we possess already. We have to want to change. Perhaps it might help to consider the story of the tortoise and the hare. This familiar children’s tale can be easily applied to the field of personal development success if we only consider the three lessons this story teaches us.

The first lesson is that you have to want it bad enough to work for it. The hare does not want to win. He just assumes that he will. He assumes that he deserves to win because he is the fastest. However in the end he does not win, the race does not go to the fastest at all. In the end, the race goes to the tortoise who simply wants it more. Life is much like that. We should never make assumptions about who is going to win in the long race of life and why they will win. We simply have to focus on what we want and continue to work very hard for that goal.

The second lesson is that you have to plan for the long haul. The hare is easily sidetracked from the goal of winning the race because he believes the outcome is sure. He is not in the race for the long haul because he does not think he needs to be. If anything is worth having–financial success, personal relationships, etc.–then it is worth it to you to be in the race for the long haul. Do not get sidetracked by short-term delights and distractions. Focus on the finish line and the sweet rewards of victory.

The third and final lesson is that you have to be able to withstand some bumps in the road. This lesson is all about the tortoise. He suffers the taunts of the hare and faces the same distractions and disturbances the hare does. However the tortoise works through the difficulty because he is focused on the end result. He knows his path to victory will not be easy or smooth. However accepting the troubles that comes his way and continuing to plod forward means that eventually he will succeed where others fail.

What can we learn from the tortoise and the hare? How can these lessons contribute to our personal success? We can learn that you have to want it bad enough to work for it, you have to plan for the long haul, and you have to be able to withstand some bumps in the road.