The tragical concept of Luck

What do you understand by luck? Who do you consider lucky? What is Luck if not a random throw of di? What is luck if not an unlucky chance?

Look back at that one instant that makes you believe you belong where you are now? Give it a minute and think again. Did you find it? Now look back at that one moment which makes you believe where you could have been? Now try to find a fundamental difference between the two specific moments. If you can find a minute difference, you are thinking rationally and if you are making yourself believe that there is a humongous difference, google ‘Hindsight bias’.

So what is the actual reason why you are where you are now? And what small little section in time could have changed your life’s path completely? And the more important question- Did you really contribute in making yourself a success or was it sheer chance? And the vice-versa is also true that if you are momentarily a person who society would call a failure, was it bad luck or was it a lack of commitment from your side?

Luck is nothing more than a psychological fart. A joke. A jest. A lazy way to blame an external entity. The more real way to denote chance is the basic concept of Randomness. You and a friend could start from exactly the same place, being raised in similar households, with similar opportunities and limitations but may end but completely apart. That is the Universe playing dice. Or you and a stranger thousands of miles away may end up in a similar situation. That is as obvious as anything. All that remains is you looking back at your life and pin-pointing certain instances which made you who you are. That is a finding a fracture in Chaos theory not luck.

The truth is you may try your hardest, work your ass off, try to manipulate external environment as much as you can and still end up on the wrong side of history. All of it is definitely out of your control and all you can do is assess the past. There is absolutely no way to predict the future luck that you may receive. The Bhagwad Geeta puts it as,

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन्।

मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोस्त्वकर्मणि।।

,which is simply to do your work and not focus on the result. Yes, it has been stated too much and yes it becomes more and more true with the research in Chaos theory. It is absolutely impossible to predict, ascertain or gain in on any future events by manipulation of external environment.

All that is true is Entropy and the restoration of it is the only certainty in the Universe.