Many people believe that those who are successful got there because they were lucky. In other words, they believe that chance or luck plays an important role in success. According to this point of view, there are some people who are just lucky and some people who are not. And sometimes, when we look around the world and see the haves and have nots, it’s easy to believe that this could really be true. Why else would a large percentage of the world’s wealth lie in the hands of a small minority?
Has Your Success Been a Result of Chance or Hard Work?
The fact is that there might, in fact, be something like coincidence or luck; it’s not something that you can control. But when you look back at your life, you may find very few incidences of luck favoring you but many more incidences where you could actually point to the things you did that led into the results you wanted.
For example, maybe you worked hard to do well in school and were rewarded with good grades and other academic accolades. Maybe you made the effort to meet a lot of people and get to know them and were rewarded by finally meeting someone who would become a long-term partner. Maybe you spent hours polishing a poem to get the best publication you’ve ever had.
Success-Related Factors Which Are Under Your Control
For each person, the achievements are different because the things that they aspire to are different. But the fact is that what seems like luck is really just hard work and the ability to get into the flow when performing that task. And in order to get into the flow, you also have to be free of anxiety which means that you have to treat yourself well and give yourself regular timeouts. You need to have a balance of work and play in your life if you’re going to be successful.
Chance Favors Those Who Work Towards Success
The fact is that after you’ve done all these things and regulated your mood and your productivity, there are times when chance or luck does factor in. Maybe someone you know read your poem, loved it and sent it off to a literary magazine without even telling you. And then you got that publication you always wanted. But, of course, you need to keep in mind that you would never have got it in the first place if you hadn’t spent so much time polishing that poem and making it perfect.