Focus: Do we make our own luck?

Hard work

Good or bad, it never stays for long

I agree that you make your own luck. You play a big role because it depends on how much effort you put in.

If you work hard and put in the effort, you can get the results you want but then again you can’t be sure because there is always a possibility it won’t work out. But ultimately, I believe that if you put in enough effort you can create your own future.

Right now, my life is mainly in school and there, hard work is important and that is what recognised. Whether in our tests or other activities, that is what shows. Luck doesn’t play such a big role in my life or my friends’ lives right now.

It is also not something you can depends on. Yes, luck is something that comes by you once in a while and sometimes you are exceptionally unlucky. The only answer is to keep going, you can’t depend on luck - whether good or bad.

From Ms Sarah Paul

Student living in Dubai

Perspective

Despite my streak of ‘bad luck’, life is good

I consider myself extremely unlucky because there are moments in your personal life when you don’t get the right outcome. You want to be with someone and it doesn’t work out, you want to study somewhere or work in a particular field and it doesn’t work out. All these didn’t work out for me. Even right now, I want to do something different and it is not working out for me. When you keep facing such experiences, I guess you convince yourself that you are not lucky and tend to not expose yourself to as many risks in life.

I know people who keep buying lottery tickets, simply because they wonder: “What if ..?” I don’t have that question in my mind, I don’t really bother with the “What if ..?”

Even my parents bought tickets quite often, wanting to win a millionnaire draw. They bought tickets for many years but never won. Now, if you ask them about buying a ticket, their immediate reaction would be: “No way!”

They just don’t want to bother and worry about it, because it does play on your mind.

But I also think perspective matters - I might not have gone to a country where I wanted to study, but I have the best education compared to anyone else in my family. So, we are probably lucky in a lot of ways, if you look at it from another person’s perspective.

Also, faith and having the right moral compass makes a big difference — you don’t consider yourself unlucky and have a more optimistic take on life if you have the right attitude. You continue to work hard and be honest, and believe that whatever is meant to come your way will come your way.

From Ms Amna Yousuf

Customer service manager living in Dubai

Lottery winners

Some people are just born with it

Luck has not really played a major part in my life, so I don’t agree that people make their own luck. Some people are just born lucky.

But usually when it comes to luck and lotteries – I know some people share the money and ten people, for example, contribute and by a ticket. But winning the lottery is not just about people getting lucky, some people buy tickets out of a habit and, mathematically, there chance of winning increases.

The ability to take risks is a very important element to luck. I had a regular job with a fixed income. I decided to start my own business and it paid off. Some people could associate that with luck but it isn’t. It is the ability to take risks, do your home work and calculate whether you will be able to sustain yourself for a year without an income. You create a business proposal and a budget plan and when it makes sense for you to take that risk, you go ahead. So, I also don’t think it has to do with just taking risks, success involves a lot of smart thinking and playing your cards well.

Confidence is also very important along with faith. A lot of people wait for things to be just right before deciding to start a business or getting married. But if you believe that what is meant for you will happen, you go ahead with your plans and don’t wait for the perfect set of circumstances.

From Mr Faisal Mushtaq

Business owner living in Dubai

Facts

Quantum physics and consciousness studies are changing the way we look at life

I would agree and disagree that people make their own luck. People can say yes to opportunities, put themselves out there, say yes when some may say no, be willing to come out of their comfort zone and try something new, but does someone have the power to win the lottery? May be. Aafter all there is a lot we do not know about the brain and our connection in the planet. But I doubt most of us would know how to access that power if it is there. It would also be hard to say to a mother who loses four sons in Palestine that she created her own bad luck. I think we have to be very careful when we say we are in control of luck, destiny or fate.

I do not believe that we sit in a chair, do nothing and the universe provides our Dh1m without us doing anything. Of course statistically it could happen, but I think the Law of Attraction is more about setting a goal, a direction and then taking some action towards achieving that goal. Then I believe there is a degree of magic involved. At least from what I have seen in my own life and as a coach. There is a phrase, “God helps those who help themselves.” When we work for something, if it fits with the greater universal need, then it seems there is some divine push that enables us to reach our goals in unusual ways. This I have no scientific explanation for. How can traditional science measure such a ludicrous assertion? Yet religious and/or spiritual folk may nod their heads and say, “Yes, that makes sense.”

Certainly science is changing. Quantum physics has challenged many ‘sound and proven’ scientific theories and will, I believe, continue to do so. As does the work of those involved in consciousness studies. What there is room for in this area is a bridge between what we think of as science and the more new age thinking such as Law of Attraction.

What we focus on we notice. If we focus on what we don’t want it seems we get more of it. When we focus on what we do want, we tend to get more of what we want. However, if we focus on what we want for a few minutes a day and our deeper more subconscious programmes are still focusing on what we don’t want, then we are more likely to stay ‘out of luck’. We need to believe wholeheartedly in our worthiness and ability to create positive opportunities and attract what we want. If we don’t believe it, it seems it is less likely to materialise.

From Ms Lisa Laws

Life and EQ Coach, Hypnotherapist and Trainer

Do you think people make their own luck?

Yes 57%

No 43%

— Compiled by Huda Tabrez, Community Web Editor