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Dealing with Disappointment...

dwinhold

Hello community,

 

I haven't seen this ever brought up before, so I figured I would talk about it.

 

Scenario:

 

So I competed in a challenge and created what I proposed. My design worked great, went that extra mile with my creation. Posted many blogs and followed the rules of the competition. I was very proud of my accomplishment figuring, "I have got this, how can I not win!!".

 

Result day, I have to see what I won (Since I had to win). WHAT? How could I not win? This isn't fair.. image

 

I'm sure I am not the only one who has felt this way (If I am, I'd be surprised).

 

Stages of not winning:

First comes disappointment (about 10 minutes of this stage)

Then the "So unfair" stage. How did I not win, I had this. What were the judges thinking?

Stage 3, I don't want to compete anymore. Why should I compete, create the perfect project and still lose.

Stage 4, after felling sorry for myself for a few days I start thinking, "What did I do wrong?".

Final stage, read in detail every competitors blogs (especially the winners) and see what they did differently.

 

After spending days reading the blogs I realized, "My project was great, I learned a lot, but it wasn't winning material". Reading the winning blogs made me realize how far off the mark I was. Sure my project was the best in my mind, but my blogs, videos and photos were sub-par. Lacking the fine details that could have made it a winning project. The winners of the challenge more then deserved it, great blogs, impressive videos and photos.

 

Boy do I feel like an ass, the way I felt about loosing. I suffered from the sore loser syndrome.

 

What did I learn?

So what did I learn? Well, I learned so much from my project and my abilities greatly improved. After reading the other competitors blogs, I learned a bit more about how to create better blogs of my own. It was my own fault, not the judges for not winning. For me to think that the reason I didn't win was everyone else's fault and not my own now makes me feel real bad. The winners deserved to win (Great job to all the competitors).

 

In closing, there are reasons for how well I did in any challenge and to learn how to improve for the next one.

 

I hope I am not alone on this,

 

Dale W

Parents

  • You always put great projects together and this was no exception.

    I suspect every competitor goes through something similar when the outcome is not what they expected.

    I might add a 5th stage - trying to put myself in the shoes of the judges to figure out what they were thinking and keep that in mind when doing the next project, although it doesn't have a strong influence on the way I do projects.

    In the last challenge I expected it to be competitive, so I made a corresponding effort.

    I published my blogs a month before the deadline so others could see where the bar was set for effort and content.

    Early publication might hurt the chances of winning, but I like the idea that it could help others to make better projects and I think it is worthwhile.

    As far as winning expectations, I always have an opinion but I try hard to remember that it is not my opinion that counts.

    The judges have a hard task and I don't envy that task, but they often (almost always) have completely different sets of values and criteria than what I use to evaluate a project, so I don't belabor their decisions.

    When doing a project, I always do it the way I want - which is one of the most attractive aspects of these projects for me. Even though I know the things I value don't coincide with judges' values.

    For example, I might think designing a custom PCB, printing it and getting it to work is a big deal, but a judge may give a breadboard circuit the same marks.

    I actually don't expect judges to agree with me so it is always a pleasant surprise when somehow the judges come to a similar conclusion to me with a completely different set of criteria.

    I hope this experience doesn't discourage further participation. Your projects are always great and they benefit the whole forum, whether they win or not.

Reply

  • You always put great projects together and this was no exception.

    I suspect every competitor goes through something similar when the outcome is not what they expected.

    I might add a 5th stage - trying to put myself in the shoes of the judges to figure out what they were thinking and keep that in mind when doing the next project, although it doesn't have a strong influence on the way I do projects.

    In the last challenge I expected it to be competitive, so I made a corresponding effort.

    I published my blogs a month before the deadline so others could see where the bar was set for effort and content.

    Early publication might hurt the chances of winning, but I like the idea that it could help others to make better projects and I think it is worthwhile.

    As far as winning expectations, I always have an opinion but I try hard to remember that it is not my opinion that counts.

    The judges have a hard task and I don't envy that task, but they often (almost always) have completely different sets of values and criteria than what I use to evaluate a project, so I don't belabor their decisions.

    When doing a project, I always do it the way I want - which is one of the most attractive aspects of these projects for me. Even though I know the things I value don't coincide with judges' values.

    For example, I might think designing a custom PCB, printing it and getting it to work is a big deal, but a judge may give a breadboard circuit the same marks.

    I actually don't expect judges to agree with me so it is always a pleasant surprise when somehow the judges come to a similar conclusion to me with a completely different set of criteria.

    I hope this experience doesn't discourage further participation. Your projects are always great and they benefit the whole forum, whether they win or not.

Children
  • in reply to dougw

    Doug, your blogs and videos are the best I've ever scene. The quality of your projects are what I hope to come close to one day. I like that you post your blogs early to help others see what they need to strive for. I love reading your blogs and learn as much as possible from them.

     

    With this discussion, I hope it helps others to understand and learn. This is a great community with so much knowledge that is shared with anyone who wants to learn!!

     

    Thank you Doug and others (to many to name) for sharing your knowledge and abilities.