This is a modern tale, if ever there was one.

I wake up at 5 a.m., wander downstairs to get my coffee and do some writing. Life is good!

Around 6:30, as always, I take a look at the Almost Daily Catalyst to try to find the typos and make sure it’s scheduled properly.

I log into Convertkit, and there is no Catalyst. How did this happen?!

Panic! Searching! Realization. Acceptance? And then…

It Happens.

I have two theories, but the likeliest is user error. I went in yesterday and cleaned out a bunch of dead drafts (emails that I had started but went nowhere) and I must have deleted today’s draft.

I was faced with a decision. Do I just evaporate today and assume that no one is paying enough attention to notice? Or do I write a quick email and share this imperfect moment with you?

You can see where I landed.

My family has a few phrases that we say a lot. One of the ones we say most often is “It happens.”

“Oh, no! I just hit myself with a turtle shell!” [Mario Kart reference]
“It happens.”

“I forgot the biscuits and they are burned.”
“It happens.”

“I never wrote the check for the car registration and now the car is unregistered and I need to GO to the DMV!”
“It happens.”

“I deleted the Catalyst draft and there’s nothing to send.”
“It happens.”

It does.

It truly does.

I’ve found that the more I strive to do fun, interesting and complicated things, more and more things “happen.”

As these things happen and happen and happen again, I am grateful for yet another opportunity to practice the true skill of entrepreneurial survival: responding to setbacks with integrity and intention.

And, that’s enough for today.

About the author

Dr. Amanda Crowell is a cognitive psychologist and business coach who helps accidental entrepreneurs get more clients and have a bigger impact. She is the author of Great Work, the host of the Unleashing Your Great Work podcast, and the creator of the Great Work Journals. Amanda's TEDx talk has received almost two million views and has been featured on TED's Ideas blog and Ted Shorts. Her ideas have also been featured on NPR, Al Jazeera, The Wall Street Journal, Quartz, and Thrive Global.