Luck is just our perception.

The title of this blog, ‘Luck is just our perception,’ sounds rather presumptuous, but I request that you hear me out. I am not being a wise ass here; it is something that I have realized over the years. After constant complaints about bad luck, misunderstood luck, and even divine punishment, it has dawned on me that I have been going about this the wrong way.

Often, one encounters situations that appear to be bad luck (for the losers), missed opportunities (for the go-getters), devious scheming (for the drama queens), etc., depending on the situation in life. However, whatever the verbatim, when one does an honest retrospective of the situation, one that is not clouded by personal opinion, we realize that we might not have been ready for whatever we missed.

Although it sounds too harsh to make such a blanket statement without knowing the details of any particular case, an objective analysis of the situation will support my ridiculous claim. I call it a ridiculous claim because I, too, feel that my statement sounds a bit “out there”, and if I were reading this, as opposed to writing it, I would brush it off too.

And yet here we are, since I have said it, I need to explain myself. So, I will explain what drove me to this conclusion.

Every time we make a plan, set a goal, or decide on a path, we base it on a fixed destination. We aim to achieve a certain purpose; most of the time, it is a conscious effort, but sometimes we subconsciously decide on our goal before we even start. We never consider whether the path we set for ourselves is what we need in life. Let me give you an example: every parent wants their child to be a doctor, get into Harvard, become the greatest footballer, or cricketer, etc. They never consider if this is what they need to be happy.

If the goal or aim they set is not met, everyone blames luck, missed opportunities, or some conspiracy. Since the chance is lost, no one can say for sure whether the goal was the correct one. We cannot tell with certainty that reaching this goal was what was needed in life to be happy. However, because we missed the goal, we make ourselves unhappy, we crib and cry and refuse to move on, or see a life beyond this goal.

As a result, we turn ourselves into the losers that we might not be and actualize our bad luck. We refuse to move beyond this missed opportunity and compare everything that comes later on to what could have been. We perceive our luck to be bad and turn every situation into a bad one. Our obsession with reaching our goal blinds us to every other path available to us.

In fact, there is no need for us to miss a goal to blame our luck. The concept of luck, in itself, is misunderstood. Here is a short story to explain my viewpoint:

There was once a brave, wise, and benevolent ruler. He was kind and just to all his subjects, encouraging towards talented people, courageous in the face of hardships, and accepting of all new ideas and viewpoints. His subjects loved and respected their king wholeheartedly.

One day, a travelling monk visited the court and offered to do a divination for the king. Although the king did not concern himself with such matters, he respected the monk and accepted his offer of divination. All the subjects also agreed that the monk was renowned for his talent in this aspect.

Under mounting expectations, the monk and the king sat down for a reading. At this time, the monk made a startling prediction. While the future of the kingdom was good, the king himself was destined to have a spate of bad luck that would last for two and a half years. The monk spoke gravely that the king would personally face severe bad luck; he could not escape, no matter what he did.

After making such a bad prediction, the monk silently left the kingdom on a tour of the land. However, all the courtiers were disturbed and worried for the king. They felt that bad luck could only be interpreted as an assassination attempt on the king, fatal accidents, or conspiracies in the king’s harem, etc.

Caught up in all the nervous excitement, the king also felt jittery and decided to retreat to his mountain hideout. He decided to hand over the kingdom to his minister and hide away in the mountains for two and a half years until his bad luck passed.

And for the next few years, the king worriedly hid himself while his ministers handled the affairs at court. After 2 and a half years, the wandering monk returned to court to inquire about the king’s well-being. At the same time, the king also returned to his palace and met the monk.

The king anxiously asked the monk about his prediction of bad luck, saying that he had hidden himself and had never faced any untoward incidents. So does it mean that he has no bad luck on him anymore?

The monk smiled and replied, “What more bad luck do you want? Being a brave and wise king, you have hidden away in the mountains like a coward for two years. What could be worse than this?”

This story highlights how a simple change in viewpoint can alter the meaning of luck. As long as the king did not think of luck, he faced all challenges and won over them to gain fame. He never saw the challenges as bad luck or schemes of enemies. But in the end, although he was safe and accident-free in his mountain hideout, the king brought upon himself such misfortune and shame of cowardice.

Whatever the challenge, always remember to take a step back, take a deep breath, and regroup. We need to objectively analyze ourselves and all the options open to us. We can clearly distinguish between opportunities and pitfalls. Surprisingly, once we remove the blinkers that we had on, our vision broadens, and new horizons become clear. Suddenly, we realize that what we saw as bad luck is, in fact, good luck, as now we have more options in front of us.