Just wondering...

... Should I feel bad not to feel bad ?

Ok, maybe you need a bit of background to be able to answer !

Since I started this new job in Sweden, one part of my mission is to lead a project. After a few weeks of introduction on the subject, we started the work with the consultants to write the specifications of the project. It was a very long and complex work since we wanted the tool we were about to create to be able to handle lots of things. Also, the subject we are dealing with is quite complex in term of calculations. Anyway, we ended up with a very complex but really finished and complete specifications. The thing is, if you want something complex and of good quality, you need to invest some money on it. And it happened that the price we got for the creation of the tool in itself was much higher than we expected and planned in our budget.

And yesterday was a big day for me, as I was doing a presentation to the 2 project owners (finance and technical director) to show them that we really needed the tool and why it was worth the announced price. I can say that I "half-achieved" the goal. The need has been understood and stated, but they kept on saying that it was way too expensive and that we couldn't afford it, which I was kind of expecting.

So the decision that has been taken at the end of the meeting, was to first say no to the offer from the supplier, but then to re-dig into the specification, re-work on it, probably simplify it and finally re-submit it to the supplier to get another quotation.
So even though I would have liked a direct "yes" from the directors, I stayed quite positive about the outcome of the meeting. Ok I need to invest more work on it but the project hasn't been stopped, and that is all that matters. To me at least...

But then, different people came to see me and kept on asking if I was ok, if I was not too disappointed, and so on... And of course I kept saying that I wasn't disappointed and that everything was alright. Because I really meant it.
And today I had a discussion with a colleague that told me that if it was his project, that would affect him. And actually I didn't really know how to interpret it...

Does it mean that I am not enough personally involved in that project ? Do they think that I don't care ? Should I feel bad and concerned ? Should I take it personally ?

As I perceive it, it is just a matter of being able to step back and looking at things from a positive angle... But I don't know... Maybe I'm wrong and I should care more... ?