If ...

There is a couplet in Kipling's famous poem which goes like this: 'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two imposters just the same' . The poem begins with some familiar words 'If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you'; and ends 'Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it / And - which is more - you'll be a man my son'. The writer outlines to his son the challenges he will face as he grows up, and urges him to respond positively, in order to get the best out of life and to be the best that he can be.

One of those challenges is how we deal with success and failure, perhaps especially challenging for us, as our culture tends to over-hype success and often refuses to admit failure.

I was reminded of Kipling's words having seen a brief interview with Sandra Bullock, on her winning Best Actress award at this year's Oscars. It was actually her second award of the weekend, because on the previous evening she had collected a Worst Actress award at the Golden Raspberries, for her role in the film All about Steve (which she also produced). Not only did she turn up to collect her award, she also brought copies of the DVD for everyone in the audience.

One of the reporters asked her whether she would be keeping her Oscar with her 'Razzie'. Her reply: 'They'll be right next to each other. It's all about balance.'

I'm always slightly cynical about interviews with actors, because (by definition) they are performers who make a living by being someone other than themselves. But it does seem as if Sandra Bullock has gone some way to figuring out how to deal with both success and failure, not least by refusing to take herself too seriously.

So here's to success - and to failing graciously!