Failure can be the hardest on people who cannot check their ego. People with controlled egos avoid internalizing failure and are therefore best equipped to handle it.
Analysis
The people who are the most harmed by failure are those who care more about the opinions of others than the importance of the work itself. When nothing matters more than the task at hand, the opinions of others are less able to cause harm. After an embarrassment, someone who is not motivated by ego can still go on to have a promising career. An ego-driven person will always struggle when faced with public scrutiny.
A study in contrast of the ways in which a public figure can recover from an embarrassing failure—or not—can be derived from the careers of Bill Clinton and Anthony Weiner. Both politicians faced serious, public humiliation in the wake of sex scandals. In Clinton’s case, however, the former president has been able to establish a well-respected career after his time in the White House. He expressed regret for actions that came to light during his impeachment trial and found sympathy among many Americans who felt his private life and marital problems were being unfairly prosecuted as political theater. While Clinton has been occasionally accused of courting the spotlight, he’s managed to avoid another public sex scandal. He now puts his fame and magnetism to work for charitable causes and to advance the careers of other Democratic Party politicians including his wife, Hillary Clinton. [11]
Weiner, in contrast, has failed to recover from his fall from grace, succumbing instead to egotism. After a 2011 sexting scandal forced him to resign from Congress, a penitent Weiner attempted to clear his name and return to politics in the 2013 New York City mayoral election. Despite being ahead in the polls and appearing to be the likely victor, Weiner yet again was shamed out of his political ambitions when a second sexting scandal came to light—this one begun after he had lost his seat in Congress for similar behavior. The explicit texts he exchanged with multiple women demonstrated his need for constant adoration and approval, even when it meant exposing his career to risk. [12] Weiner’s downfall demonstrates that when feeding one’s ego is more important than the work itself, failure is more likely to be permanent.