The Slow Shun : Falling Out of Like With The Word ‘Luck’
“success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions” — Oxford Dictionary
‘Luck’ probably isn’t a word you’ve spent much time considering. It’s a throwaway word used to congratulate lottery winners and those who manage to nab the last parking spot at the office each morning. But have you ever noticed that it has been co-opted for lots of situations where it is neither correct nor welcome?
This is the story of how I fell out of like with the word ‘luck’; in what was, quite possibly, the slowest shun of all time.
Young Luck
Ah yes, those heady days of youth, where every little thing is deemed lucky. From children giggling over actual luck (getting the best toy in a Kinder Egg); to being told by your bestie that when the cutest guy in class asked you out, it did indeed make you lucky. Whether you wanted that accolade or not.
Perhaps it was youth that jaded me. I could not reconcile the concept I had of luck with what was put upon me as luck. Even then I couldn’t quite escape the notion that by deeming it luck it was reducing my agency in the process.
Or maybe I was just curmudgeonly then too.
The Obfuscation of Power
Humans are known for their relinquishing of power to a higher order. Religion and spirituality gift power to abstract ideas and spirits. God forbid humans have to take responsibility for things, eh?
Luck has become the stalwart of atheist power obfuscation. “It may not’ve been God, but gosh that sure was lucky!”
And while it’s nice to have ‘unlucky’ to fall back on when you mess up; it is a mystery to me why people choose to deem some things ‘lucky’ when the outcome is entirely of their making — whether directly or indirectly.
And don’t get me started on the term ‘dumb luck’ — for when being lucky isn’t quite enough and you want to really impress the ‘gee-whiz’ nature of your life.
Getting All Up In Luck’s Face
I’m fascinated by the psychology of responsibility and agency; and the human disposition to gifting this agency away without a second thought.
Not that all agency is dismissed as luck, but there is a strange mis-use of the terminology that grates on me. Sure, chance exists and really is a fine thing. But all too often, ‘luck’ is the default descriptor. Why are we so quick to undervalue our part in things?
Personally, I choose to take responsibility for the agency in my own life. I choose to own my f*ck-ups, as well as be proud of my achievements — for I am responsible for both.
Shunning Luck
The abandonment of luck as a driving force in ones life comes alongside other great achievements such as learning how to let go of toxic friends; and discovering that you are, in fact, an introvert, despite what you’ve been told your whole life.
With those discoveries comes enlightenment. And with those revelations come realisations about the agency that you hold in your own existence. And with it the epiphany that things don’t always happen TO you, YOU are the one making things happen.
It may’ve been a long slow awakening, but realising your own agency and celebrating it, embracing it and finding strength in it (even the bad stuff), will then finally relegate luck to where it belongs… alongside happenstance and serendipity.
It’s a slow shun, but totally liberating once achieved.
No Hard Feelings, Eh?
Where does luck come in? Well, luck can have the weather and car-parking spaces… and lottery wins, and random groupings of fine people. But it can’t have my position in life. It can’t have my foibles or my faux-pas either — they are not bad luck, they are my bad choices.
But no hard feelings, luck, you’ve still got plenty for your CV — I mean, I got a parking spot right outside our hotel last night. Thanks!
