Philosiblog ponders that comment from Penn Jillette.
Do we assume that when something happens to us it was good luck? Or was it random, haphazard chance that helped us? Or was it our preparation applied to an opportunity?
Be careful of the assumption that the world is in your favor:
The point is to not take things so personally. Unless you believe that there is something or someone looking out for you, bending the rules of probability, it’s just math.
If you are a believer, you may understand that sometimes God is blessing you with a specific event. To assume you will therefore win the lottery or graduate without a lot of time hitting the books or get the promotion without lots of hard, long-term, sustained work is merely presumption.
As Philosiblog points out, eventually your luck will run out.
When something goes well,
(c)onsider how much effort went into preparation for the attempt. Are you
- lucky, or
- prepared, skilled, and well planned?
If there is a bad outcome, it might just be your bad decision. If there is a good outcome, your planning and effort and preparation may have had something to do with it.
On the other hand, many people look at life this way:
Luck is a term people like to use when they either don’t know or don’t want to acknowledge the reasons why something did or did not go their way.
There is something deeper than just luck that explains our lives. What do you think it is?
Check out the full article, linked above.