Lincoln cuts past the tired consolation that "failure builds character" to identify something far more dangerous: the quiet surrender of expecting nothing better from yourself. A person who stumbles but remains restless—dissatisfied, plotting the next attempt—has fundamentally different prospects than one who settles into disappointment like an old chair. You see this in workplaces constantly: colleagues who botch a project and immediately begin strategizing improvements versus those who accept their misstep with a shrug and move on to the next assignment. The distinction isn't effort or talent; it's whether you've decided your failures are temporary setbacks or permanent definitions.