What should have happened vs what happened

Sometimes things don’t go quite to plan.

You lined up everything just right… triple-checked every variable… but…

Wham.

It goes sideways.

Maybe because of something you missed. Maybe because of something someone else did without telling you. Maybe you still don’t know quite what happened.

These are really challenging times: “This shouldn’t have happened!” we cry.

But it did happen. It does happen. And it might happen again.

And that has to be OK.

The longer we hold onto “what should have happened”, the less control we have over our lives, our emotions, and our ability to make the most of the situation for what comes next.

As Seneca the Younger wrote, “Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant.”