Lowering self expection and ignor (do it in a politically "right" way) boss' expection can save many people from the depression. But on the flip side, you are giving up the possibility of reaching a higher level. The hard part is that you can NOT know / predict the outcome before head. So, when sad like this happens, one regret for not lowering expection, when still alive but not reaching a high level, one regret for not trying "a little more" hard - a real dilima for people in this modern world.