Does luck actually matter?

Human experience has proven that there is no single and generally applicable formula for success in life. While hard work, determination and creativity might be a recurring integer, people often overlook and deny luck as a mere mythical factor to success. Nobody wants to attribute their successes to luck because the idea of luck attenuates how hard we have worked or how consistent and determined we have been to deserve the achievements we brag of. I recall the response of a self-made billionaire at an interview where he was asked “do you think you were lucky in your journey to success?” With an unconcealed disgust about the question, he defensively explained that he did not come from a wealthy background and that his success was a result of “pure grit, hard work and the grace of God”.

Humans would rather unstintingly arrogate the glory for their successes to their hard work and grit than mistakenly mention that they were also ‘lucky’. In fact, it is more convenient for people to sententiously ascribe their successes to the “grace of God” rather than luck. Meanwhile, we would not hesitate to say that “luck was against us” if we worked so hard and circumstances were haplessly against us. This essay dislodges some wrong perspective about luck. The essay argues that luck actually matters but not all that matters, and that admitting that one was lucky does not in any way indicate that one is fluke or undeserving of one’s achievements and successes.

The things beyond our control and influence are innumerable. For instance, we lack control over our place of birth, or the family we are born into, or the era we would be born. We can control how we behave towards others, but we can’t control how others perceive us. Hence, people can either enjoy a great deal of luck, or have no luck at all, or, in fact, encounter some very bad luck. When events or circumstances we can’t control favours us it is called good luck, and if they neither help nor hinder us then that is no luck, and if they negatively affect us, then that is bad luck. For proper context, the one dimension of personal luck that transcends all others is to have been born in a highly developed country. An American with the same level of talent as a Nigerian is more likely to succeed than his Nigerian counterpart for many obvious reasons. Perhaps, players like Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lewandoski would have been Ballon d’or winners if they played in an era other than the Messi and Ronaldo era, or maybe Isaac Newton would have not enjoyed the serendipity of discovering gravity if he was born centuries later. The point is that luck exists and they influence the outcome of human efforts.

Luck by its very nature is random- in that there is no pattern to it. It could be a one-time thing for some, and others could just be consistently lucky. Luck is presented in the opportunities we can access, and the kind of people we encounter or befriend. It could upsurge the success of one person or even mar the success of another. Luck is not distributed evenly or based on a particular pattern. Even amongst lucky people, some people’s luck are just unparalleled. An important question is whether someone can bring luck upon himself. Most of the views I have read suggest that this is possible. For instance, a talented, trained, hardworking and strategic person is likely to be lucky since he is positioned for more opportunities than his untalented counterparts. Even an unlucky person can make a peripeteia of his own misfortune. For instance, Paralympics participants are not making their misfortune hinder them.

Contrary to the view that people create their own luck, I believe that people rather harness the luck that comes their way. In fact, the difference between successful people is how well their lucks are utilized. Although there is such thing as a positive outlook towards luck. A positive outlook towards luck recognises luck as a possible ingredient of success but focuses more on other important ingredient within his control like determination, strategy, and hard work. The attitude here is to adopt a mentality that you can influence your success through purposeful actions and the right mind-sets. On the other hand, it is utterly foolish to adopt a passive attitude on luck, which is to unflappably live life with the belief that success is outside of your control. The point is people cannot determine when life will favour them, but you can prepare for opportunities and maximize them if they ever come your way.

Clearly, my argument is not that luck is everything; of course, other things like talent, passion, perseverance, intellectual curiosity, determination, and strategy are important. My argument is that to divorce luck from success is to embellish the impact of human efforts. Thus, to acknowledge that luck exists and that people are indeed luckier than others is not to downplay hard work and grit. More importantly, we must avoid reducing other people’s successes to mere luck and stop making people feel less deserving because they are lucky. So yes, luck actually matters, but definitely not what matters most.

In conclusion, unless we are determinedly intransigent, we would remember that we have all enjoyed a spell of good luck at one point or the other. At least, if not that, we can recall when we clearly deserved something but we helplessly couldn’t get it. Notably, when we are reminded of the role of luck in our successes, we are much more likely to plough some of our own good fortune back into the common good. Emerging evidence suggests that when we Gasconade ourselves as self-made—rather than as talented, hardworking, and lucky, it leads us to be less generous and public-spirited. Thus, when we acknowledge our lucks, we are not saying we don’t deserve our achievements, we are just giving the full picture.

Abdulganiy Olayinka (Your Learned Boo😍🥰🎉)