The work and career of a researcher is never smooth, and is typically
littered with rejections, wrong turns, and (in retrospect) not very smart ideas and actions.
I strongly suspect that this is true also for other fields of human endeavour, however I lack direct experience
of most of them, and would not like to unfairly tar them with the same brush!
Inspired by the example of others, I'll try to summarise various unsuccessful job applications and funding requests. The oft-repeated mantra that we "learn from our mistakes" may be true, but they can none the less be frustrating and disheartening.
My message is that you need not give up ideas of a research/teaching career after a few rejection letters: it's quite normal to get many!
IF you are able and willing to put up with years of wandering around on short-term contracts, wondering what will happen in the long-term,
there is a small chance that you MAY "strike lucky" and find yourself applying for the right job,
in the right place, at the right time.
This is not a healthy situation for researchers (and especially their families) to be in,
but I fear we will be stuck with this system for a while.
I tried to make the most of this situation: living and working in different countries and
collaborations can be very enriching, and can widen one's horizons, but it was by no means easy or comfortable.
On the other hand, don't forget that (particle) physics research is but an infinitely tiny part of human activity, and that there are many other opportunities out there for you to apply your skills and experience.