A Brief Word About Disappointment.

"If you can make a heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss..."*

Some people get tattoos. Some people brand themselves or pierce sensitive body parts. Me, I periodically set myself up for crushing disappointments.

Of course, it's not like see it that way in advance. I always feel invincible and certain of success when I wholeheartedly throw myself into an endeavor. Occasionally I'm even right - and it's spectacular. There is no high like throwing all your money down on a high-stakes table and WINNING. But most of the time, I'm not so lucky. And when I'm not, it hurts. A lot.

But there's a thing you have to remember. If you're not losing now and then - I mean, if you're not suffering a crushing, humiliating, what-the-hell-made-me-think-I-could-even-step-onto-this-FIELD type defeat now and then - all that means is that you're not in the game.

*from "If," by Rudyard Kipling.