As difficult as life can be, it is not difficulty, or the trials, or even those moments when we feel so overwhelmed that we can’t see a way forward that defeat us. The thing that defeats us, that makes us throw in the towel and decide that we do not want to go on, is a loss of hope. When we begin to believe that “this is just the way it is, and nothing will ever change,” we condemn ourselves to a lifetime of drifting without purpose or direction on the sea of life. It becomes difficult to accomplish anything or fulfill the purpose for which we were created because we have accepted defeat as a way of life. We have accepted the label of “disordered” and resigned ourselves to just getting by.