Generally, making an accounting of one’s life is likely to be very painful and even ruthless, but it is not always based on true considerations, and the dimensions of such an accounting do not always reach the proper level.
Often, in difficult moments, a person, or even an entire nation, will reconsider his (or its) path, but difficult times are not the right time in which to make such an accounting.
Sometimes, the pain and the temporary bitterness overshadow the main problems.
These problems should be clarified at a time of relative calm, in a moment of relative repose.
At such a time, it is fitting to examine whether there is justification for one’s way of life and for one’s existence.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz