Being unlucky isn’t the same as being unworthy. Some losses are dice, not judgment.

The mind insists on reasons, so a loss gets converted into a statement about you almost automatically. Plenty of outcomes turn on things that had nothing to do with merit: who else applied, which day it happened to be, a decision made before anyone read your name. Those are rolls of the dice. Treating them as verdicts means accepting a judgment that was never actually passed on you.

Sort your recent disappointments into two columns: things you could have influenced, and things that were out of your hands. Work on the first column only. Guilt spent on the second costs you energy the first one needs.