Actuate Your Blessings

“Don't grumble.  Don't stew.  Some critters are much-much, oh, ever so much-much, so much-much more unlucky than you.” – Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?

There are three paths to success in life: working hard, waiting for fate to arrive, or succumbing to chance.  While hard work is the responsibility of each, fate and chance are left completely beyond one’s control, removing accountability and human action. 

To have agency is to act or exert power and control over one's own life.  Then, by employing the seven heavenly virtues of chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility, one can expect to achieve positive results.  In fact, Benjamin Franklin specifically called diligence the mother of good luck, as persistent effort often produces favorable outcomes.  These virtues are, in fact, the opposite of the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth, vices that should not only be discouraged but whose effects often yield adverse consequences.  As is almost always the case throughout life, the choice is ours whether to become a victor or a victim. 

In Dr. Seuss’s 1973 book, “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are”, Seuss recounts various tales of ill-fated characters and their hopeless situations, from poor Ali Sard who had to mow grass that grew too fast, to the poor brothers, Ba-zoo, whose hair grows like theirs happened to do.  Suitable for children ages 2-8, Seuss’s silly tales will lift anyone’s spirit, even in the darkest of times. 

Psychologist and Holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl, knew best when he said, “Pain from problems and disappointments, etc., is inevitable in life, but suffering is a choice determined by whether you choose to compare your experience and pain to something better and therefore feel unlucky and bitter or to something worse, and therefore, feel lucky and grateful!”  Even when circumstances seem unfair, and there is nothing that can be done to change our situations, we can always change our outlook.  And that can make the difference between hope and despair. 

In mythology, the Fates assigned individual destinies to mortal beings at birth, including their life span and their allotment of pain and misery.  This led to the belief that outcomes were predestined and inevitable, despite our efforts.  If life didn’t measure up, blame it on fate. 

Some will look for shortcuts by engaging in superstitions and putting their faith in inanimate objects, like a four-leaf clover, or a rabbit's foot, believing they can supernaturally resolve a negative situation.  Others will succumb to gambling and the lottery to improve their prospects.  These approaches can be seen as a substitute for making difficult decisions or taking responsibility for needed action. Instead, they shirk their responsibilities through procrastination and wait for serendipity to step in and save the day.   Unfortunately, there are no magic pills or lucky charms.  If chance doesn’t improve your prospects, blame it on bad luck. 

Instead, odds are, if you want to live a favorable life, you must pull your weight until hard work is rewarded with “good luck.” “The harder I work, the luckier I am” is a famous adage describing how persistence produces opportunities for success and good fortune. While “luck” is often slow to appear, dedication to a job well done is usually worth the wait.