The role of luck...

So do some people have a harder time than others? Obvious question, the answer is a resounding yes of course!

We all start from a base that differs, depending on the multitude of factors that impact our lives - starting from where you are born, who your parents were and who their parents were, what happened to them in their lives, what is going on around you at the time, who was in government at the time, what your countries immigration policy was at the time, and the list goes on and on.

These are all things that are completely out of our control as a new recruit in the world where the only thing you need at the bottom rung of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. So my question today is what part does luck play in all of this?

I got my first job out of university and was told I was a 'lucky-duck' by a friend who was still looking for work. Hmmm, not so lucky in the end, it wasn't a great job for me and would change the course of my life forever. But there have been many instances in my life where I think luck has played a huge part. This is a rare instance I would say it wasn't luck at all, but hard work!

When it comes to luck then I would say that there are a few key moments that have helped me along the way. My choice of parents (or lack thereof), my choice of musical instrument (I was lucky enough for an oboist to demonstrate the instrument in a morning assembly once which prompted me to take it up), I was lucky enough that not too many people were auditioning for a music scholarship at the same time I was (I was successful and it changed the course of my life again), lucky that I fell into a musical culture at school which protected me from many of the teenage challenges around being autistic and having to live up to social expectations that were way beyond my abilities at the time and finally, listening to the radio at the exact moment a financial counsellor was on talking about their work - without that experience I would not be writing this today.

Does bad luck also play a part? Of course! It's just not as obvious when the lack of something affects your life in a positive way - For example - missing the plane that ultimately crashed.

So good luck can affect us negatively and positively as well as bad luck affecting us in a negative and positive way - I fell a rubric coming on here...

Does hard work, self development and emotional intelligence come into it? That is your grounding or your starting point - luck on it's own is just winning the lottery. The most devastating moments are when we worked really really hard, used all of our knowledge we had at the time and were not lucky at all in that moment. But we only grow when we are challenged. So there is always something positive to take out of these experiences, even if we feel that initial overwhelming feeling of devastation. But then that assumes you will grow and try and then be successful next time. What if you are not? What if you have had 200 set backs. You are a real hero if you succeed on that 201st try or to be honest had not given up at this point. For me I am yet to have needed to go up to 200 and I know that I started much further up the spectrum of luck.

I use these thoughts to work out this life on a daily basis and reflect and stay grounded. I try not to let life happen to me these days (as my confidence builds and that has taken a long while) and instead try and guide it - through advocating for my children, and advocating for myself in my work and personal life. I was given the gift of luck in my life - I feel it is my duty to use this for good and see how much I can pass onto others who started a little further down the spectrum.

The part that luck plays in life has always fascinated me.

Do you have your own experience of luck you wish to share?