Do you believe in luck? Are you a lucky person or an unlucky one?
By pandaeyes
@pandaeyes (2065)
February 15, 2010 9:56am CST
I often think of the phrase 'the glass is half empty' when thinking about life.
I see it the other way myself. It isn't what you don't have that is important,it is what you do have.
My glass is half filled. I have my lovely family,a safe place to live,food to eat and clothes to wear. I don't have to be afraid of anyone or anything.
Some say it is counting your blessings.
In life ,some people seem to be eternally lucky ,they have a good childhood, nice friends, plenty to eat, lots of things and always seem happy and contented.
If you look at these people up close, sometimes they are just the same as you.
They were born in the same situation, they had the same upbringing and went to the same school.
So why are they the lucky ones?
I think it stems from the way they look at life (or the glass).
Some people are always looking a the empty bit, they see that they don't have a new car, an exotic holiday every year and money to spend on trivial things.Nothing will be good enough for this person because as they gain more things, their glass gets bigger too and the empty space with it.
The happy person,looks at the liquid in the glass, they see the transport they use for their travel and are happy with it because it gets them where they need to go, be it on foot,a bicycle or the train. They see that they have a week at home with their family,they can do anything they like in their week,noone tells them 'go here ,do that',it is their week.
They see that they have plenty to eat,warm clothes and a safe place to live. Their liquid seems like it is much more than the empty space in the glass.
How about the person who is promoted in work and earns more money? They are the ones who see the possibilities of what can be done with what is available.
They tell their workers, we are doing well,look what we have achieved! and so they are popular and good leaders.
And so what about you?
Do you consider yourself lucky in life or unlucky and why do you think so?
2 people like this
14 responses
@Ingkingderders (3832)
• Philippines
15 Feb 10
I really believe that I am lucky. In a third world country like ours whom majority is living below the poverty line, you would really feel lucky if you have a house of your own, you have 3 meals a day, your parents could send you to a private school and you could finish your studies without you working part-time or anything. And after school you get a job, you feed yourself and you don't have to pay for the tuition of your siblings or the medicines of your parents... I have a good life, and I always thank my parents for it. They taught us that even if we have enough, we shouldn't be looking at those who hasn't it a different way. They believed in equality and humility. 
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
My dad conveyed that to us also.
I think because we had quite a 'frugal' upbringing ,we appreciate every little comfort and my father was very good at showing respect to everyone,whoever they were which really helped the 3 of us to get on with people of every walk of life.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
15 Feb 10
Luck is a perception in life. Those who have the best resources at their disposal would be considered to be lucky. However, what we see is luck is a combination of two things. The knowledge to play the game of life rather well and be able to get by. The other is hard work and determination. Circumstances can only get us so far if we are unable to act upon it.
With that in mind, I think I am fairly well off in life. The perception of luck is not there. But I am not what people may consider unlucky either. I am just there. I have had my share of good times in life. Then there are those times where I am not quite as fortunate. I feel I am rather balanced, neither what one would be considered lucky or unlucky.
2 people like this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
15 Feb 10
I like that description of playing the game of life.
I agree it is as much about outlook as circumstance.
I can see that some people do seem to have a lot against them but they are strong and push through and that is part of their luck.
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
I much prefer the lucky things too.
No one can have it all good, all the time after all.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
18 Feb 10
Generally I consider myself to be very lucky in life. I had a wonderful and supportive family as I was growing up. I now have a wonderful and supportive family as well as the fact that I also have two wonderful children. Now, this is not to say that there have not been some setbacks in my life as well, that is why the proverbial glass is never completely full. I'm blessed to have what I've got and there are things that can get better, but I don't really want for anything.
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
18 Feb 10
That's good .
I agree no ones glass is ever completely full.
I have had set backs too but looking at them, they have made me who i am ,I wouldn't be me if they hadn't occurred ,maybe I would be a weaker version of myself.
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
Its good to think we have some control over the situation that's for sure.
@dilipmiester (932)
• India
16 Feb 10
i do believe in luck . i think that whatever the hardworking person you may be if you dont have that little bit of luck then you cant see success . i have met many people who will be hardworking but they wont to able to achieve success since they dont have that luck . i think i am the most unlucky person in the whole world . whatever i plan to do or think will happen will happen in the exactly opposite way . everyone in a place will get certain thing due to luck but i wont .
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
At work one year we all got new sweatshirts.
They were printed with the company logo.
The women giving them out were very silly people and decided I must have the over-sized one as I had big shoulders from swimming although was not particularly big, so my sweatshirt was huge like an elephant's pajamas.
The next week nearly everyone complained that their sweatshirts were too small now because they shrunk in the wash, all except me with my huge sweatshirt that was so funny.
Mine now fitted very well as it has shrunk too but was far too big to begin with.
Sometimes bad luck is good luck in disguise.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
15 Feb 10
hi pandaeyes yes in some ways I am lucky as I am 83 a nd still here and reasonably healthy, and well not really going crazy happy, but a bit happy, after all when you do not want to live someplace but have to due to circumstances beyond your control, its hard to be ecstatic about the situation. My son and i shared a two bedroom apartment a little over a year ago, he lost his job, we went broke, and were evicted, homeless. so he felt it was not good for me to spend all day most days trying to find homeless shelters, so I was put here in this retirement center which is paid for out of my social security and ssi checks,while my son got gov,sponsored apt with three other men all still out of work. okay I have a roof over my head, am fed three rather yucky meals a day, have a room with a roommate so I should be frantically happy not not not. I want to be back doing my own cooking, cleaning, waiting on myself, taking my own meds. feeling like I was a real person again not an inconvenient too old mother .But again I am safe here, I can get medical care for my diabetes, and I can hope my son will yet get a really good job, and once he does he can accumulate some money and move me into an apartment with him, so its something to look forward to.
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
You have had a very adventurous life I think.
My neighbor (100 years old) is in a similar position but she cannot manage for herself anymore even though she does have her own home and money to buy her necessities and they are looking for a retirement home for her.
She really doesn't want to be there but she falls over and hurts herself now and it is too risky to let her be on her own.
One thing I always found comforting was knowing that the future was secure.
I don't mean money wise, but knowing what was going to happen in the next 6 months was a very good feeling.
If you can look forward 6 months and know that you are still going to be safe and warm,that is a lucky thing to be able to do.
I think your son will manage to find better work and as he does not need to be worrying about where he will be living right now, it will be easier to work his way back up again.
@beho82770 (63)
• Philippines
16 Feb 10
I don't believe in luck. Why? it's because everything happens for a reason and a purpose. Nothing happens by accident or chances. Whether good or bad happens to you, it has a purpose either to build or ruin you. There's a time for everything that evolves here in our earthly life.
I leave my fate to God who is the one who knows the future for all of us. I would rather called it a blessing or curse than to say I'm lucky or unlucky.
This is just my own opinion and it's up to you to digest the meaning of it. But we live in a free society where everybody can express their ideas as long it doesn't offend someone with negative comments.
Life is what you make it.
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
Its true life is what you make of it.
One man can see a situation and already knows how he will deal with it and another man sees it and despairs.
They both have the same situation but the first man has used his creativity to decide the outcome and the second cannot imagine how he will proceed and so sees the same situation as his bad luck.
The first man may not achieve what he sets out to do but he has another plan already brewing in his mind. He will always be the positive person and even in the eyes of the other man,the first man is the lucky one.
@MrKennedy (1978)
•
16 Feb 10
I do believe in luck. There is so much evidence of it that although we cannot see or feel luck itself, we know it exists
As for me, my luckiness is very mixed. When I am lucky, I am really lucky, like one in a million kind of lucky (although no, I have not yet won the lottery
), and when I am unlucky, I am REALLY unlucky
As for me, my luckiness is very mixed. When I am lucky, I am really lucky, like one in a million kind of lucky (although no, I have not yet won the lottery), and when I am unlucky, I am REALLY unlucky1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
So you have experienced both good and bad luck.
I have won the lottery,it was £96 (96 pounds )which is a nice amount compared with not winning a penny but ,well not millions like the winner the lottery this week managed.
On my birthday one year, my husband gave me a lottery ticket.
It won £10 which was amazing as we hardly ever do the lottery (I don't really do gambling as my dad was a compulsive gambler)
@tom_soarhigh (42)
• Philippines
16 Feb 10
Honestly at times, I feel that I am unlucky because I feel that I don't have contentment in life. But on the other hand, I tried to reflect on the idea of the glass as being half empty. In our lives we need to look at the liquid in the glass. We need to see our beauty, our available resources, our talents and abilities. We need to appreciate things as they are. Life is a quest and all we need to survive in this quest is to think and see positively in all things. We must learn to thank our Divine Creator, God for all the blessings He is giving.
Thanks for the idea. . !
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
It is a fine balance between one side and the other.
Often I have heard the phrase 'the other mans grass is always greener' and that really is the same principle.
The man on one side of the fence sees the grass at an angle ,it picks up the light differently,so when he looks over the fence, the next door garden is greener than his own but if he were next door and looking the other way, that grass would be at an angle and would look better.
@laura_lmaxi (678)
• United States
15 Feb 10
I do consider myself lucky in life, I have a great career with a good salary, and a wonderful relationship with my boyfriend. But I agree with you sometimes the lucky people are the kind of people that are optimistic, when you are optimistic, you work better, you feel better, and people around you notice it, that is why happy people is always surrounded by a lot of friends family and many times they have great couples on their side also. It is also important these people, when they are the one in charge of certain company or even a project, they are the ones who can make a difference because their positivism motivates the employees, and that's all you want, motivation to do quality work. I am one of the positive ones, and I thank every day for the good things in my life.
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
You sound like a glass is half full person to me :)
I think being able to see things from several angles can really help to keep you positive.
For example, someone gets a new job but it is 100 miles away. They can look at it from the negative side;they must move home, their children will have to go to new schools, they wont know anyone.
Or from the positive side; it is well paid, they can choose a new place to live and start afresh, their children will make new friends and can still keep in contact with the old ,so expanding their friend base,they will soon meet new people and have a whole new social network.
It is all about outlook.
@artee13 (125)
• Philippines
16 Feb 10
I do believe in luck but I don't know if I'm lucky or not. Maybe it is the way you view things. Just like you said about how people view life or the glass. It is somehow connected to contentment because according to what you saw if you are content with what you have right now then you feel lucky but if you're not contented with the thing you have and achieved then you feel unlucky. I don't believe that there are unlucky people in the world it is just that they focus too much on what they don't have rather than what they have right now and because of that they gradually lose the things they have. Because of what you said I know that I'm lucky to have someone to look after me after my parents passed away and to still be able to go to school and meet wonderful friends and people.
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
That is a very good example.
My husband and his brother and sisters have been brought up to see the empty part of the glass.
It seems crazy to me because their family were always very affluent and they went to good schools and had everything they asked for.
Sometimes those sort of people cant see the liquid in the glass even when it is there.
My husband used to say he wished he could earn more and I would say 'what would you do with the money'?
He had to really think hard, what did he want that he didn't already have,it got him thinking that really he earns a good wage and he has quite nice things and a comfortable life already.
@qianmoxiaxi (11)
• China
16 Feb 10
I think I am a lucky guy somewhat, I hope everything better and better...
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
16 Feb 10
Good ,you see that everything has possibilities and so everything does.
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
15 Feb 10
You are measuring your luck by how another person perceives you.
Do you feel that you are doing all you can to make your life happy?
We can only do our best after all.
Sometimes we just have to accept that what another person wants for us,isn't what we want for ourselves.
I hope that doesn't sound like preaching.
One of my favourite books is called who moved my cheese and it is all about how we look at life ,it is by Spencer Johnson.
That shows you how to change your luck I think because it can help you to look at your life from different angles.
1 person likes this
