Getting the thing doesn’t fix everything. It just changes what you worry about next.

Arriving somewhere you wanted does less than expected, and the reason is structural rather than a fault in you. Worry is renewable, so it simply moves house. Make the team and you start worrying about minutes. Get the grades and you worry about what comes after. Each step is a real improvement and none of them is the last one.

Expect that in advance and the letdown loses most of its sting. Decide now how you will mark the next thing you get, before the next worry moves in and takes the room.