- I was talking to a former co-worker at General
Motors recently who told me how lucky I was not to work at GM anymore – how lucky I was to have my own coaching practice where I could set my own hours and do what I pleased. - A client recently did very well
on a test. When I congratulated her she said she was just lucky to have passed.
- Last week, I saw a woman at the gym. It's been a few months since I've seen her there because we've been on different schedules.
She'd lost weight and looked toned and fit. When I told her she looked wonderful, she said she was lucky. Normally she has a weight problem and she wasn't sure why she'd lost weight this time.
The
common denominator in all of the above. The results were attributed to "luck". When I think about it, luck had absolutely nothing to do with any of these situations.
· I'm not "lucky" that
I don't work at GM anymore. I took a huge risk and retired early not knowing what I would do with my life.
· I'm not "lucky" to have my own coaching practice. I worked very hard to set it up and keep it
going. I am continually reading and taking classes to learn more. And yes, I set my own hours, but quite often they span 7 days a week!
· My client wasn't "lucky" to do well on her test. She put in many
long hard hours of studying to make sure she knew the material she would be tested on.
· And my friend from the gym wasn't "lucky" she lost weight and toned her body. She ate healthier and made exercise a
priority in her life. She worked diligently to reshape her body.
So what does luck have to do with it? Not as much as we give it credit for. Every time we accomplish something and pass it off
as luck, we're trivializing ourselves. We're telling ourselves that our effort was inconsequential – that what we contributed really didn't matter.
We're giving away our self-esteem and empowerment. We're
taking a passive role in the outcome of our lives.
If we were "just lucky", we'd never have to do anything. Luck would just manifest wonderful things for us all of the time without us ever having to lift a
finger. But, luck isn't something that just happens to us. We make contributions that help us make our own luck. We make choices that lead us to be lucky. Even the person who wins the lottery has to
participate in bringing this luck about -- they have to make the choice to play the lottery, go to the store to buy the ticket, and follow up to find out what the lottery number is.
Give yourself credit for
your good fortune. Luck doesn't just happen to anyone – we have to actively contribute something to be lucky.
~~~ Weekly Challenge ~~~
1. List 3 things that happened to you which you credited to luck.
2. Think about what part you played in each instance. Write down your actions next to each item.
3. The next time something great happens
to you, give yourself credit and don't just consider yourself "lucky".
Good Luck! -- (which you'll have only if you make a contribution to
your life)
Cindy
