Luck

[Vallerina 2]

Some people are just luckier than others. I've heard people say that it was their positive outlook on life that's brought them so many great things, but I say that if so many great things happen, you are probably going to have a positive outlook.

I'm sure everyone goes through phases where things just happen to go perfectly/disastrously. Maybe you have control in how these events affect you, but that doesn't change the fact that there are going to be times for some of us where if it can go wrong, it will (heck...even my $4 Fanta went all wrong!)

I'm taking a strong stand which many disagree with. Sometimes no matter how "happy shiney" your outlook is on life, things can still go wrong (my dog peeing on the floor had nothing to do with my crappy outlook on life. ) Sure, the cheery people can look at what goes wrong and say, "Oh well." That's because they're lucky, and they know these are rare events which just make it "life."

Does anyone want to lend me a rabbit's foot?

Oh, and this isn't a pity me party! I have a job, roof over my head, and my nephew turns one tomorrow. However, if someone could provide me proof of where a "lucky" individual ran into a ton of "bad luck," that would be appreciated.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[seekfun 0]

Vallerina,

Nothing apropos worth singing comes to mind right now. And, we know you like being sung to. But, I was hoping that a little poem might help...

Shel Silverstein:

---

LISTEN TO THE MUSTN'TS

Listen to the MUSTN"TS, child
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be

---

Go get your anything...


topher

"...there is a there out there..." - Tom Robbins

[Brian425 0]

I've had my share of good and bad luck over the last 2 years. I was not woking for 7 months. Took up skydiving , some money issues , and some money happiness
It's just life. You'll always find times where you feel a little unlucky or depressed. In reality, I was still better than most people in the world and many people in the US. I have a home, food everyday, and someone who loves me. I can't ask for anything more. In my opinion, people are unhappy when they focus on what they don't have instead of what they have.

The dog did not pee on the floor to be mean. The train was not late to ruin your day, etc, etc, etc. If you can't control it or it is not worth trying to control it, don't worry. Life is too short.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[nanook 1]

Martha Stewart's pretty much Phawked.

Lucky me I got the black octogonal Martha Stewart dinner plates from Kmart before she got convicted.

good luck/bad luck. It's just the same as one's outlook in life. You got people who notice the beer is half empty. You got people who notice the beer is half full. . .and you have the rare third type who wonder who has been drinking thier beer.

_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[Vallerina 2]

Quote

You'll always find times where you feel a little unlucky or depressed.

I agree with that. Everyone has some bad times in their lives.

However, luck is not evenly distributed amongst the population. Some people have it better than others. I feel fortunate that my parents were able to give me good food and give me shelter. So, I'm already better off than most.

However, I know people with extremely good luck. I have one friend and whenever I talk to him, I always hear stories like, "Oh! I just happened to find these first class tickets to Dublin with my name on it by the side of the road!" It's not that he just doesn't dwell on the bad stuff, it's that lucky things just always happen to him. He is proof that life is not just "what you make of it." If extremely good luck has been proven, then the opposite must be true, too.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[seekfun 0]

Vallerina,

Extremely good luck hasn't been proven. Luck is a mystical term we've chosen to associate with good fortune, which is another term we've chosen to associate with...ad infinitum.

I believe it was Louis Pasteur who said:

"Chance favors the prepared mind"

Perhaps luck is just circumstance meeting those who are ready to embrace it.

Buck up little camper...Turn the music up loud...dance like no one is watching...and sing at the top of your lungs. It'll make you feel better.

- topher

"...there is a there out there..." - Tom Robbins

[damion75 0]

I feel pretty damn lucky, but I am not sure that I actually am. I seem to find myself being absurdly pleased with life, but on reflection just as many shitty things seem to happen to me as to other people that I know... it is just that my mind seems to either filter them out, or reclothe them as something good...

Take getting sent to Iraq for 6 months. It sucks... but when I get back (in time for the skydiving season So its good really.

Happiness is not about stuff happening or not happening, it is how your mind deals with it. IMHO.

***************

Not one shred of evidence supports the theory that life is serious - look at the platypus.

[Vallerina 2]

Quote

Happiness is not about stuff happening or not happening, it is how your mind deals with it. IMHO

I agree. However, I do see "lucky things" happen to certain individuals frequently. I see some people where everything just goes their way. There are still others who have horrible luck, and they're still able to smile and laugh through it all....then that just makes them lucky for having such a great outlook on life! I'm going in circles.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[Zenister 0]

Quote

Some people are just luckier than others. I've heard people say that it was their positive outlook on life that's brought them so many great things, but I say that if so many great things happen, you are probably going to have a positive outlook.

i know (and have lost) some of the most positive people in the world to stupid, dumb luck events.....your outlook on life only really affects you, it doesnt do a whole lot to stop the spare tire flying down the interstate towards your car.....but it might help you deal with the results....

there are mindsets that help you take advantage of opportunities as they occur, but "is it luck??"

Quote

Is it Luck? -Claypool

My socks and shoes always match
Is it luck?
There’s a foot at the end of each of my legs
Is it luck? I can play my bass for you
Is it luck? some gals like to kiss my face
Is it luck? is it luck?
There was food inside your mouth today
Is it luck? your barber cuts your hair just so
Is it luck? when the taste of sex is on your lips
Is it luck? is it luck?

Cyanide works oh so fast
Is it luck? polyester makes you sweat
Is it luck? if a graham cracker gets you off
Is it luck
Love. love?
Is it luck? is it luck?

she said she wanted my body not my mind so i
Showed her my dictionary to show the words that I know and how
Loquacious I can be when I set my mind down to it, and she wasn’t
Impressed. she wasn’t impressed at all.

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[Guest]

In my careeer, I've found that once in a while, luck is just a random thing - of being in the right place at the right time.

Mostly, though, it's been a simple formula:

Luck = preparation + opportunity

You cannot control opportunity. You can, however, be prepared for opportunity when it comes knocking.

And remember this - toot your own horn, because no one else will toot it for you.

"Audentes Fortuna Juvat" - FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD.

Best of luck to you.

mh

.

[EricaH 0]

Quote

Luck = preparation + opportunity

this is the logical way to think of it.

However, for one of the FEW times; I actully agree w/ Val.

I have a friend that would f up everything. She never did work @ school or on the job - her life was one big happy party. She never listened to her parents, pretty much did anything & everything that crossed her mind.

She got everything. Free trips to Greece, Mexico, Spain, and many places in the US w/ friends for NO COST. She admits no cost, I see none & her parents don't either. A grant for bein 1/4 indian to college, some college debt forgiven by another school for some arbitrary reason. A car for free. She had a DUI, got married & moved to her husbands home state where they FORGAVE her DUI.

They never have any $$ but managed to finegle a great house, 3 cars & now twins.

She just gets sh*t for FREE - she is lucky!! Always lands on her feet - it's crazy.

As the friend that has always worked. Gone by the book, done the right thing 99% of the time - I get screwed w/ everything. Nothing goes my way, so I end up doin nothing. If I try something, something bad happens. 100's of examples.


So, I agree w/ Val. And like Val, this is not a pitty party.

I don't believe in luck based on principal. But damn it there are some great examples in the world.

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[Zenister 0]

but do you think her path is the result of her outlook?

i do have to admit the less i care about doing/getting something the easier it is to accomplish most times..the things i care about are always soooo difficult, while the things that dont really matter much to me (that others seem to obsess over) are all to easy...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[catfishhunter 1]

Quote

Nothing goes my way, so I end up doin nothing. If I try something, something bad happens. 100's of examples.

Theres your answer.I have a firm belief that no matter what everything will turn out. I have had friends that where always pissed because I would always find money sometimes literaly blowing down the road. You want to know why I find money? I am ALWAYS LOOKING. I grew up in Vegas and learned early on if you just pay attention you can find some cool shit! Did I always find money Nope. Was it luck when I did? NO. My friends always thought it was lcuk that I could leave a Job and not worry about another one for months then the right job would just appear. Was it luck NO. I have a firm belief in the Magic of Believing. If you want to find out what that is here is a link to the book on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=378&item=6902354837&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
I need another copy myself I keep giving them away and here is another link to amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671745212/qid=1086288570/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-6092452-8097558?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I had a basic understanding of this principle for as long as I could remember but when I read this book it all made sense. When my life starts to go shitty I pull it out and read it again because It is usually going shitty because I am thinking shitty.

I challenge you to read that book apply it and see what happens in the next 6 months. If things don't go better for you I personally will buy the book back from you at your cost. I believing in it that much.
edited to fix the links

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[EricaH 0]

Wow - I may have to take you up on that.


I look @ everything too & often find things no one else has seen.

my instance are more like, trying to take a cool pic & dropping the entire camera in the pool. takin a friend on a trip & having my car break down & them leaving me to take the bus. looking into getting a home loan & finding that while I have GREAT credit, I have too much.


my friend doesn't even seem to look @ life. she's goin on her way, working as a waitress (@ the same resturant I worked @ also) & the other head waitstaff (whom both of us barely knew) for the evening says "hey, my pops is paying for me & a friend to go to Greece over spring break. Wanna go?"

I honestly don't know how her outlook could cause things to go her way. I go into a bank knowing the facts & hoping they're nice to me & I get nothing. She goes into a bank w/ absolutely no knowlege other than that she's trying to hide a repossessed car & multiple defaulted credit cards & gets a huge loan for a house.

I could go on & on. Unless the fact that her outlook is blind/naive by choice helps her - I don't get it.

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[catfishhunter 1]

Or maybe she BELIEVES things will go her way and they do...

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[EricaH 0]

Could be. I don't know. maybe it's like I believe God exhists & so I'll go to heaven & all those people that believe in science'll get screwed in the end just cause they don't "believe".

kinda funny business.

However, mostly her response is "huh, what - oh great thank you."

then to me, oh my goodness, can you believe that!!

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[kelel01 1]

This isn't really in reply to you catfishhunter . . .

I have a friend who has pretty much the worst outlook on life that a human being can possibly have. And good things don't happen to her as often . . . however, she also always feels like she's being shit on in situations that other friends and I find to be neutral, everyday stuff.

So maybe good stuff happens to you (the generalized other), too, but your outlook is so shitty that your perspective is skewed. That seems like the most likely answer to me.

Try to find joy in things, big and small, and don't sweat the small stuff. I actively worked on my outlook on my life, and it made a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE. If you want to make excuses about things being out of your control, and of course some are, keep in mind that most of your attitude is controlled by YOU and you alone.

Kelly

[catfishhunter 1]

Quote

Try to find joy in things, big and small, and don't sweat the small stuff. I actively worked on my outlook on my life, and it made a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE. If you want to make excuses about things being out of your control, and of course some are, keep in mind that most of your attitude is controlled by YOU and you alone.

Beautifully said

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.