When things go right, credit yourself; when things go to the other way, "externalize your feelings." By doing such, you the impact of stress on your body. For example, in a public gathering, youspoke poorly. Soften the impact of failure by telling yourself,"what was a very tough audience." Avoid conditioning yourself to failure by saying "I gave a lousy speech."
Nursing your ego helps, but don't over do it. You will be in trouble if you will extremely overdo the mechanism of externalization. In order to modulate your stress response, monitor your explanatory and externalization tools carefully.