As men and women, we're not static. There's no such thing as something that is kept constant in the human mind, as I believe that we're all either growing or shrinking, and it's our own individual choices that guide how we evolve. When one decides to stop to learn, to stop growing, getting better or decides one's 'good enough', that's when human decay sets in and people start losing abilities.
Life itself, isn't static either. One moment you're on the top of the world, you feel great about yourself and your achievements, and then something happens and you get melancholic and sad and demotivated, and even start questioning not only your capabilities but your fitness to have an opinion.
This is inherently human and happens to all of us, at different stages of your lives with varying degrees of impact in our own minds, positive or negative.
But, as rational beings we are, it's our own choice on how we deal with moments of pain and discomfort and sadness and even despair, just as its our own choice on how we deal with moments of love, affection, excitement and achievement. But even independently of how we choose to deal with any of the above, most fail to see that all is transient. Nothing is static. That it's part of life to have ups and downs, and just because you can't see a way out of a problem at the moment doesn't mean you won't be over it in a couple of months.
And that's where most people fail. They achieve one state, happy or sad, and assume that's their new reality. That's their new 'them', and that nothing will ever change. Until it does... over and over again.
Abraham Lincoln, the American president, in one of his famous speeches told the following tale:
'It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!'
This is the essence of living, Rafael. Never feel entitled. Never assume that where you are now is where you'll always be, because you'll be wrong. Expect great achievements if you're putting in the work, but expect great losses and disappointments because they happen to everyone. And use every opportunity that comes your way, as a growth tool giving you either lessons or blessings. And whatever you do, know that you can plan all you want but nothing will ever come out exactly as you imagined it. It's life's variability that makes it worth living, that makes it worth waking up every single day to see what's lined up for you. Everyday being a new battle.
One last note of caution though. Don't assume that what happens to you is a measure of your worth. It's not. Just because you won, doesn't make you a winner and just because you lost, doesn't make you a loser.
What is a measure of your worth is how you respond to what happens to you, and if you'll allow external circumstances to affect the core of your being because for most, their feelings and emotions are what's in control of their lives, not their directing mind. And if you choose to live like that, be prepared for constant disappointment and ruminating on the same stuff over and over again, because life will keep knocking you down and you won't have the tools to get back up.
Work on developing personal resilience, never thinking too highly of yourself and expect that both failure and success will come your way everyday. And when it does, see if for what it really is and not for how you wish to feel it knowing 'it too shall pass away'
