When you don't get the outcome you expected

Sometimes in life things don't go your way.  When I was growing up, I was told that this is how life works sometimes and you just have to get used to it and accept it.  After all, there will always be people who are smarter than you, faster than you, stronger than you, luckier than you, and so on.  As long as you did your best you should be able to handle the results.  Oh sure, it might hurt or make you upset that something didn't go your way, but if you made an honest effort, then hey, move on and try again next time.  We can learn from our mistakes or shortcomings.  Was there something I could have done differently to produce a better outcome?  What can I learn from my opponent?  What did he or she do different than I that helped them win or succeed?  How can I improve in order to make a better showing next time?  So rather than blame anyone and try to find reasons why something didn't go my way, we should always strive to find no fault with anyone but ourselves and learn from our mistakes so we can be better or do better next time.  That is really the best approach.