I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier. I recently read a fascinating

comment on X by Matthew Knowles who is the father of legendary musicians

Beyoncé and Salange and who also managed their musical careers. He wrote,

One thing I taught Beyonce and Solange was to practice failure.

We would practice how they'd respond if their microphone got cut off, if their shoes broke on stage,

if the wrong song got queued up in their performance set. Anything can happen,

and they were always prepared to have a response.

I would like for you to consider the same lesson.

Whether you're a performer or artist or an entrepreneur or professional,

practice how you'll respond in the event you fail. It's a skill that can and

should be developed.

This is a delicate balance. On the one hand, as Matthew Knowles points out, it's useful to recognize all the things that might go wrong and prepare.

On the other hand, we don't want to catastrophize or upset ourselves by imagining failure or embarrassment in dozens of different ways.

Nevertheless, I do think it can help us feel calmer and more confident if we ask ourselves,

what might I do if something unexpected happens?

What are the obvious things that can go wrong

and how can I prepare?

I thought of Matthew Knowles' approach recently

when my husband Jamie and I

went to a comedy show called The Garden of Laffes at Madison Square Garden.

It was a comedy show that featured six well-known comedians and because it was a fundraiser

to benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation, all kinds of famous people

...