Redemption a-go-go: A post-script and/or appendage... appendectomy?

The true quandary of perceived failure - not just in graduate school, but rather in life in general - is how much of our identity we tie up in the things we do.  To quote "Batman Begins":

It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you.

So when we choose a life path at which we excel time after time, we develop a strong sense of identity.  I, chemist.  But once reality kicks in and things begin to fall apart, with what are we left?  To me, it's all a part of the process of growing up, much like that first time we discover our parents are fallible, human... can be wrong.  Yes, it's earthshaking, but in the end, it helps us grow to better understand and appreciate them.  So to should it be with self failure.


Perhaps the hidden moral is to diversify, embrace all of the little things that bring one joy, so that when such a situation arises, our entire self-conception is not bet on the one dark horse.  People are so intrinsically multi-faceted; it's a shame to focus on just one piece.