https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-failure-make-victory-seem-sweeter/

We’ve all encountered failure. Perhaps, it’s blowing a job interview, failing a final exam, or getting rejected from your dream school. Whether we like it or not, failure is part of life. But eventually, we’re told, overcoming difficult obstacles will make a future success taste so much sweeter. New research, however, may challenge this maxim. In expectation, at least, initial failure can lead people to underestimate how good it would feel to succeed.

Life is full of setbacks. How people respond to these obstacles is of great importance both to their decisions and achievements. Previous research has shown that hedonic expectations are key: “If I should reach that goal, how happy would I feel?” In a recent study, we wanted to understand how such expectations may change in the face of failure. Are people able to predict their own happiness?