Is luck something that just happens or is it created by our actions? This was the question posed in Mark Manson’s newletter Life Advice That Doesn’t Suck on the 10th of July 2023:
Luck doesn’t just happen, it’s created. You can do things to increase the odds of serendipity. Meeting more people makes you lucky. Learning more skills makes you lucky. Being willing to fail makes you lucky. Offering to help others more often makes you lucky.
Mark Manson newsletter 10th July 2023
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Well, it got me thinking!
First, there are a couple of implied assumptions in this statement:
- For Mark, serendipity equals luck because he talks about creating luck, and then increasing the odds of serendipity by taking certain actions.
- The luck referred to here is therefore the good kind, because serendipity means ‘the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way’.
So, does good luck just happen, or is it created?
Let’s consider how the word luck is used in everyday life.
The first way we use it is to describe a random or chance outcome. Winning big on a slot machine or managing to get a parking space just as someone leaves a full car park for instance. Can our behaviour affect this? Maybe. We have to be in it to win it as regards the slot machine, and we have to be driving round the car park actively looking for a space in order to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the leaving car. So, I guess Mark has a point here. Random or chance events occur, but through our actions we can increase the opportunity of them falling in our favour.
The second everyday use of the term luck is in respect to supernatural causal forces. In this scenario, luck is harnessed like magic through the use of lucky charms or rituals. The four-leaf clover, the lucky underpants or going through a personal ritual before a big game. For me, these seem to be more about belief than luck. If we believe that we will harness the magic of the charm or the ritual, we will be more confident and therefore perform better and produce better outcomes.
The third use of the word luck sees it as a personal trait. Simply put, some people are thought to be born lucky or unlucky. Again, this is a belief that will affect the way we approach life and the actions we take. If you see yourself as one way or the other, it will affect the way you think and behave and ultimately become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In Conclusion
So, is luck something that just happens? While none of us can completely control our lives, if you sit around waiting for something lucky to happen then it’s highly likely that nothing will. Action creates opportunity which, as Mark suggests, increases your chances of a happy or beneficial outcome. But belief in a positive outcome is also key. As the famous Henry Ford quote says:
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,”
Anyway, I read Mark’s statement and it got me thinking and writing. I hope my meanderings were of interest. Mark’s weekly newsletter is something I always look forward to reading. It’s short, pithy, to the point but always gets my attention. If you think you might like it too, you can subscribe here.
As always, thanks for reading and if you have any comments, please don’t hesitate to post them below.
Sian. x
Sian – I’m a big believer in “you have to play the game in order to win” so, no surprise my experience tells me that most of the time you have to create opportunities for serendipity to happen. However there are clearly events in your life both +ve and -ve that you played no part in causing, maybe this is the true definition of luck or bad luck 🙂
Yes, and of course the biggest thing over which we have no control is the circumstances of our birth: Where in the world we are born, our genetic inheritance, the parenting skills and financial and social circumstances of our parents etc. All of these are a matter of ‘luck’, the hand we are dealt, and the one that we must play in life.