Marcus Aurelius faced obstacles:
Insomnia
Father died at age 3
8 of his 13 children died
Wars with Parthia and the Germanic Tribes
The Antonine Plague
A palace coup
A troublesome heir
But Marcus used it all as fuel, did his best and never let himself be heard complaining.
If you refuse to play the success game, you will be looked down upon and be labelled as a failure. If you play the success game and win, you will spend the rest of your life protecting what you've built. Either way, your existence will not escape conflict.