Many times over BFF and I have discussed the concept of luck. Before I proceed, here is a link to BFF's point-of-view on the concept of luck -> "Luck be a Lady."
At this time I feel the need to confess that I have a tendency to obsess about this concept. Especially over the past couple of years as several unfortunate events have transpired in my life. I feel, however, that the greatest change in my thoughts and feelings toward this concept have evolved most over the past 12 - 18 months.
Before I totally step on my soapbox and tell you my exact thoughts on luck I'd like to give you a bit of history of how I got to this place . . .
Dumb Luck
It was my first semester at TCU. The name of the class and professor teaching this class escapes me, but I will never forget what he said during one of our discussions that centered on the concept of luck. To summarize, Prof told the class that as much as he would like to say the key to success was 100% due to hard work, the truth was that luck plays a larger role in ones life than most would like to believe.
His example centered on how he met his wife. They were set up on a blind date. His buddy asked his girlfriend if she had a gal for his friend. The girlfriend in turn asked the first girl who passed by if she'd like to go on a double date. First Girl agreed to the date - and as they say "the rest is history."
What I got out of this little story was that there are forces beyond our control that play in our good fortune. Sort of like how I obtained a hank of Dream In Color Classy a few weekends past. A fellow knitter was showing a group her Blue Lagoon Classy yarn - she had three hanks of it. After drooling over the yarn for a bit this kind individual threw one of the hanks my way and exclaimed, "It's yours." When I asked why she just told me it was mine. Just because.
I believe both these tidbits exhibit what people call "Dumb Luck."
Hard Work With A Touch Of Luck
My next exposure to the concept of luck came from my middle brother - Al. Al has been an English Professor his whole career with a majority of it spent at one of the Chicago city colleges. As Al has shared with us on many occasions, one summer instead teaching he decided to focus on becoming a textbook writer. It was something he wanted to do and knew he would not be able to give this aspiration the proper attention it needed if he were to teach. So, he forfeited the financial comfort of teaching summer school and focused on writing his first English textbook. Once complete, he sent it off to several publishers and hoped that someone would respond with feedback. As history would have it, he did receive feedback, which he incorporated into his next draft(s). Currently, his writing and composition books are now in their ninth and seventh editions respectively.
What's my take away from this story? Yes, Al worked hard on his books, but there was that element of luck in there. Many individuals aspire to have their writings published reap a financial reward from the endeavor at the same time, but despite their best efforts and hard work some will not achieve this goal either due to not being able to acquire a publishing vehicle (such as a traditional publisher) or an inability to build a following.
The Answer Is: Hard Work Yields Luck
Simply put, on many occasions, BFF and I have butted heads on this concept of luck because, as I understand it, her point-of-view on this matter is that if you work hard you will be lucky. Hard work yields luck - PERIOD! Or, at least that is the impression I have gotten from our many, many, many
My Soapbox
I will outright tell you how you are either lucky or you're not if I feel so inclined. Furthermore, I'd probably tell you I'm not lucky. However, believe it or not, I don't really believe that at the core of my being. I will admit here I'm not necessarily an unlucky person. Truth be told, I have had my share of bad luck and my share of good luck. Many times it just feels that the former tips the scale on most occasions. Especially when disappoint and strife are a strong constant in my life.
My problem with the rigid view that hard work yields luck is that it presents to me as an absolute. Such as combining blue and red makes purple. This is an absolute truth. Yes, depending upon the amount of red and the amount of blue you add the hue of purple will vary, but it is still purple. However, I can't wrap my head around, and be settled with, the idea that it works this way for all experiences people have in life. It's like the idea of a garment being one size fits all. Let's face it, that one size fits all garment in some cases is big while being tight on others. Not everyones experiences are one size fits all.
In this challenging economy, I cannot tell you the number of professionals I've talked about their job search. There are those who are busting their ass looking for work - without success. I'm talking folks who have been out two/three years. Then there are people who are busting their ass as well and land a job three/four months out of the gate. Dare I even add a job these people want and are happy at? How can you not call that luck? They are all doing the same thing, but some just seem to have more luck than others. In speaking with one individual about their job search pipeline though none her interviews produced offers, she was a month out of the gate with a multitude of interviews. She even kept saying how lucky she was. Then there are others who have been out for quite sometime and pray for just one interview.
Personally, this past year I've had some experiences of my own that have just landed in my lap. When asked what I did to get these opportunities I had no other response beyond, “they just came to me.” Seriously, I just happened to know the right people and/or happen to be available at the right time and/or happen to have the right skills. (Trust me, I wish I could come up with some super, secret solution to share.) On the flip side, recently I've had experiences where my hard work has played into my successes. I recognize this and give myself credit where credit is due. I give my hard work credit where credit is due.
I guess at the end of the day what I'm trying to convey is that no matter how hard I try, I can't in good conscious discount that luck has played into these good fortunes. I do not discount the importance of the hard work I put forth, but I can't ignore the fact that things happen randomly just because that is the way it is suppose to happen.
Maybe the missing component to all this, that hasn't been mentioned yet, is chance. Things happen by chance. I don't like this because I’m someone who likes to plan out things. However, I have to acknowledge the fact there are things beyond my control. The moon, the stars and the sun periodically just align at the right time, by chance, and produce events that cannot be explained otherwise. At the same time this is happening I feel that being aware enough to recognize what is transpiring and take advantage of the opportunity(ies) chance presenting is important.
I believe it is this chance factor that I have to most trouble with. Have I mentioned I'm a planner? Though I’m working on it, and getting better with just going with the flow, loose ends are not the most comfortable place for me. Personally, I’d like everything to have an absolute outcome, an absolute order. However, I have to remind myself that there are some things that I cannot plan for and are beyond my control. I have to remember to be okay with this idea. It is when I lose track of this fact I begin to waiver, and wonder - why am I not lucky?
For now, that is all I have to say on this topic. It is my hope that I've given you something to think about. My hope is to revisit this topic another time to see how (if) my thoughts and feelings have changed as time passes and I continue to gain more experiences. However, for now, this is it.
Until later . . .
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1 comment:
Wow, lots of food for thought here, on a topic I've always found intriguing, probably because we'll likely never know the truth.
While I absolutely believe in chance, I am also a big believer in the old adage, "the harder you work, the luckier you get."
You mention that you recently got lucky because you networked with certain people, and because you were in the right place at the right time. But perhaps that's not luck -- perhaps that's an example of "harder you work, luckier you get." You already did the hard work of networking, so now you're reaping the benefits. It seems like luck, but really, it's not. (Just playing devil's advocate here ....)
Anyway, thanks for the fun and thought-provoking post!
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