Never assume defeat.
This is one the of most dangerous things you can do to yourself professionally. If you had an interview that didn’t sit well with you, a meeting with a client that went shakier than expected, or a pitch that didn’t go a fluid as you would have hoped — don’t automatically put a period where someone else placed a comma. You have no idea what potential opportunities may be around the corner that you may have unintentionally shut down based on your perception. Haven’t you ever heard the saying, “one bad chapter doesn’t mean the end of the book” ?