They who plough the sea do not carry the winds in their hands.

Anyone doing serious work is operating in conditions they did not choose and cannot adjust. The market, the weather, the mood of the committee: these are the water you are crossing rather than obstacles peculiar to you. Skill is what you do with the boat, and confusing the two produces either false blame or false credit.

When something goes badly, separate the part you steered from the part that was simply the wind that day. Improve the first and record the second without argument. It keeps you from learning the wrong lesson from an outcome that was never fully yours.