HealthyBea

Fortune vs. Luck

Have you ever thought about the role that fortune and luck each play in your successes and failures, your privileges and shortcomings? Until a few weeks ago, I had lazily used the words interchangeably, more often leaning towards luck for no specific reason. That is, until a colleague at a work event recently illuminated the important difference. I was sharing with him how lucky I feel to have parents who encourage my siblings and me to attend any University we wished. Loans played a huge role in our ability to do so, but our mom and dad provided significant financial support (that is, for those of us not smart enough to actually get paid by a Uni to attend…you know who you are). 

But my colleague quickly corrected me. He said, “no, you’re not lucky, you’re fortunate. Chance didn’t play a role in your parents’ decision to support you in this way.” Instead of playing devil’s advocate (a role I typically enjoy), I simply agreed. Well, that’s not entirely true. Though I did concede after a quick mental surprise that this was the first time the difference between fortune and luck was brought to my attention, I also rebutted that luck played a part in my being raised in this family. (Though, of course this is only true if our approach is secular and divine intervention did not play its part in the equation…and for purposes of this discussion, let’s say this is the case). 

Reflecting on the topic more since our conversation, I consider the question that one of my favourite podcast hosts, Guy Raz, of “How I Built This” asks his esteemed entrepreneurial guests at the end of each episode: “Do you think your success is a result of hard work or luck?” In this scenario, I equate, or at least draw parallels between, fortune and the necessary conditions to work hard. For example, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to excel during my MBA, but that stems from the fact that I had to work twice as hard as most in order to do so.

So don’t misunderstand me – I am surely not pretending that “necessary” here always means “good.” Sometimes the hard work an individual needs to exercise is due to their unfavourable or difficult conditions. I consider the labour I needed to exude as fortunate because I don’t think I would have achieved such success if I didn’t feel the pressure to put in more hours than my classmates. How would you categorise this person? Lucky? Fortunate? 

I know it’s difficult to frame the challenging life events that “force” us to work diligently as beneficial, but perhaps they are. Perhaps that is how we should position them. I am not lucky to have a poor memory, but I am fortunate to have the confidence and knowledge to push through, embrace the reality, and consistently work on strengthening it. A highly successful runner or lawyer, for example, who was raised in a stressful and abrasive environment is surely not lucky, but I argue that he is still fortunate to have the brains and determination to overcome his difficulties. 

My point here is that we have an opportunity to leverage the challenging, difficult, unfair, or unlucky situations in which we find ourselves to seek our individual fortune. And conversely, we can and should reflect on the luck that has been given to us (either divinely or not, depending on your beliefs) throughout our lives. Perhaps these practices will humble the proud and elevate the meek.

Separately, let’s consider our fortunate that has been shared, paying special attention to the individuals who have made that possible. As most guests on Guy’s podcast conclude, success is often due to a combination of hard work, which, regardless of what has prompted us to exert, I believe we are fortunate to to able to unlock, and luck. Something to ponder the next time you find yourself in a moment of peace and reflection.

All my best,

Bea