The Silver or Bronze Medal?

Lesson on PERSPECTIVE... If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer—the silver or the bronze?
A study of Olympic medal winners produced some unexpected results. Most people would assume the silver medal winners would be happier than the bronze medalists since they received a higher honor, but that wasn’t the case. The bronze medalists, who came in third place, were found to be happier than the silver medalists, who finished in second place.
The former Olympians explained how they felt about their medals. The third-place winners were thrilled just to have won a medal. The silver medalists, on the other hand, felt like losers because they didn’t come in first place.
What happens to you is not nearly as important as how you perceive what happens to you.
(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 1-2) from http://www.kentcrockett.com/