It seems that it isn't. Or at least not for everybody. Sometimes people are even happy with what they've got because they think that having a bad relationship is more than not having any. Yes, if your current partner is the only one on Earth whom you can attract and you know that you have no chance to find somebody better, then you've got what you deserve. And it is all your fault, if you are happy with the misery you are in and do not take whatsoever attempts to break free.

However, more often one is perfectly aware of the miserable relationship he or she is tied into but simply doesn't have the drive to terminate it. Kids and property are often named as excuses for staying in a bad relationship, though the real reason is one's indecisiveness and lack of action to achieve the goal of being free. Being successful in one's career is enough and the loser is ready to put up with the unhappy relationship.

Being tolerant is great but patience and endurance are not necessarily the way to happiness. The more you wait, the deeper you drown. You might have learned at work that you can achieve “success” by discipline and obedience, rather than with talent and brains. Actually, it is the people, who have achieved career success through being servile rather than being talented, who stand the family misery. Of course, there are exceptions but they simply confirm the rule.

Obedience is one explanation to why people put up with unhappy relationships. In some cultures obedience is considered a great virtue – for both men and women. People are taught to bear with what life serves them and not to object. Obedience is rewarded – in the same way dogs are given some food for performing the tricks to please their masters.

There is one more, very prosaic reason why family losers are successful at work – they spend more time in the office because they feel better there than at home. To the average boss working overtime looks like devotion to the company, not like an escape from home. While many professionals have to balance between work and love, family losers don't have this problem – the less time they have for their families, the better! Going to the office (but who says performing some actual work there?) is a credible excuse for staying away from home!

So, one really starts to wonder if career success is something that is worth achieving! Of course it is but not when it is accompanied by a misery at home. Achieving real career success and having a happy family is the perfect combination to strive for!