Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice.
As the appointed arbiters of our own lives we get to choose what we do with our time. If something in life is bringing us down, no matter how important we may think it is, we reserve the right to walk away from it. This may be hard at times, but can increase our enjoyment of life and our fulfillment many times over.