In a recent round of golf with my son, we both shot a five (bogey) on a particular hole. For him, it was a good feeling. For me, a bad one.

My son got out of trouble brilliantly. He handled a few errant shots and found the bottom of the cup in five strokes instead of what could have been six or seven.

On the other hand, I had a good opportunity at making three. Two poor putts, however, left me with a five.

If the golf jargon has lost you, here’s the simple explanation. We both ended up with the same less-than-perfect score. For one of us, it felt like a win. For the other, a loss.

This happens in life, too. Two people can be in similar situations, yet their feelings about it can be completely different. One person squanders a good opportunity and feels like a failure. The other overcomes setbacks and feels like a victor.

Much of what we experience — if not all of it — is the story of where we’ve come from, where we find ourselves, and where we think we’re headed.