On a hot summer day, a working mother comes home from the beach with her five-year-old son. They had a good day running around on the beach and playing. When they get home, the little boy decides to conk out in front of the television while the mother makes phone calls for her job. She needs to call New York and Boston. A half an hour into the call, she hears a big thud in the living room. The son knocked over a vase full of flowers.

The son was well-behaved. The mother was a model mom. She took her son to mommy and me classes when he was a toddler, taught him about right and wrong, and there was really nothing more she could do. But sometimes, boys will be boys, and kids like to get into things.

Without missing a beat, she cleans up the mess, tells New York that she will have to reschedule. She does not yell, she does not say, why me?! She understands that stuff happens.

In life, stuff happens.

You can do your best, do all the right things, yet stuff happens. It’s not your fault, but it’s your responsibility. You can do everything right. You can read all the self-help books in the world, have great relationships, not do anything wrong, but it’s a guarantee that something just will go wrong.

Life is not about avoiding what can go wrong. Life is about dealing with what is going to go wrong.

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This is something I have to remind myself of every day. As a disabled person, it’s one of the most challenging concepts I have to deal with. My disability is not my fault, but it’s my responsibility. I can do everything right, but there are impairments every day. I want to move at the speed of light, but my mind says no. There are times when I want to jump on a plane and go hang out with Leslie. There are times when I want to Tweet something, but I have to wait for Kristi.

It’s easy to understand that a mother whose child knocked over a vase has the responsibility to clean up without any complaining or questions, but for some reason or another on a bigger scale, it’s harder to grasp. If you are not doing well in any aspect of your life, business or goals, no matter whose fault it is, it’s your responsibility. You need to find that vacuum, paper towel, or whatever you need to clean it up.