The Muse
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, things don’t go as planned. We practice the presentation twenty times, then get onstage and promptly forget everything.
While we could blame ourselves for our failure, consider another possibility: perhaps the Muse simply wasn’t with us today.
The Muse was Nick’s father Per’s way of acknowledging that in anything we do, there’s always a bit of luck, and even if we do everything we possibly can to prepare, that doesn’t guarantee success. On the other hand, sometimes the Muse shows up to help us when we least expect it, like when we totally feel like crap but give the best performance of our lives. The Muse sure is one fickle chick.
In any case . . . In your Project Quartz journal, write down something that didn’t go as well as you hoped recently. Document all of the steps you took to prepare and all the things you did in the moment. Knowing that you did all you could, release yourself from the guilt of failure by imagining that the Muse simply wasn’t with you that day (perhaps she was off helping someone else who needed even more help).
Source
Nick’s father Per.