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SHRINK YOUR SURFACE AREA

Here’s a different take on what makes us feel so busy, stressed, and anxious. (Note: This is not a regular bi-weekly Dyingwords post and is not advertised on my mailing list. The original piece appeared in Farnam Street.) Periodically in 2024, I’m going to randomly re-publish pieces I come across that make me think and make me feel the thoughts should be shared with like-minded folks. If this makes any sense 🙂 Downsizing and saying “No” are two lifestyle choices I’ve made for this year, and shrinking my surface area is part of the plan.

As a rule, the larger your surface area, the more energy you have to expend maintaining it. Of course, when most of us think of surface area, we think of the area of a rectangle or how much grass we have to mow. But there is a surface area of life, and most of us never realize how much it consumes.

If you have one house, you have a relatively small surface area to maintain (depending on the age and size of the house, of course). If you buy another one, your surface area expands. But it doesn’t expand linearly – it expands slightly above that. It’s all the same work plus more.

Friends are another type of surface area. You have a finite amount of time to spend with friends before you die. The more friends you have, the less time you can spend with each one individually.

Money is another form of surface area. The more money you have, the more you have to keep track of different types of assets and investments.

When your surface area expands too much, you hire people to help you scale. Assistants, property managers, family offices, etc. They’re scaling you – but they’re also scaling the surface area of responsibility. This, of course, only masks the rapidly expanding surface area by abstracting it.

Beliefs are another type of surface area. The thing about surface area is that the more you have, the more you have to defend and maintain. The larger your surface area, the more you are burdened with mentally and physically.

If you think in terms of surface area, it’s easy to see why we are so anxious, stressed, and constantly behind. We feel like we need more time, but what we’re craving is more focus. What we need is a smaller surface area.

Your surface area becomes part of your identity. She’s the ‘busy person’ with her hand in every project. He’s the guy with four houses.

Competition can drive expansion. Most people want a bigger house to compete with someone else who has a nicer house. We are animals, after all. On a group level, this causes great benefits. On an individual level, it can cause unhappiness.

Most of the really happy people I know have a relatively small surface area. I know millionaires with two houses. Most of my close friends only have 4-5 close friends – everyone else is a friend in the loose sense of the word. Most of the productive people I know at work are focused on one or two things, not 5.

The way to maximize your enjoyment in life is to keep your surface area small. It’s a lot of work but if the happiest people I know are any indication, it’s a lot less work to keep it small than to maintain it when it’s large.

Content credit to Shane Parrish at Farnam Street.

THE REAL REASON FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S UNPREDICTABLE FITS OF RAGE  

There’s nearly unanimous agreement among historians that Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was America’s greatest leader. Honest Abe, as he was affectionally called, served in the nation’s highest office from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. During that time of civil war, Lincoln’s guidance held the union together, and he worked towards the emancipation of slaves. But despite Lincoln’s reputation of calmness under stress, there was a dark side to him. Abraham Lincoln was known for his unpredictable fits of rage.

Abraham Lincoln was not a well man during most of his adult life. It’s documented that Lincoln suffered from what was then known as hypochondriasis—the 19th-century term for paranoia and melancholia. Today, he’d likely be diagnosed as having manic-depressive disorder or, at least, experiencing clinical depression. Lincoln’s symptoms included gastrointestinal discomfort, headache, fatigue, fever, chills, insomnia, anxiety, hypervigilance, forgetfulness, immense sadness or despair, and uncontrollable mood swings including maniacal laughter as well as those unpredictable fits of rage.

At one congressional debate in the 1850s, Lincoln lost it and grabbed an opponent by the throat, shaking him so violently that the man’s teeth chattered. In the beginning of his presidency, White House staffers feared Lincoln’s rath which seemed to come from nowhere. Remarkably, though, after five months in the Commander-in-Chief’s chair, Abraham Lincoln suddenly changed. For the rest of his days, he was the picture of calm and control.

It’s well known, historically, that President Lincoln was medicated for his ills. His main prescription was for a common-at-the-time pharmaceutical called Pilula Hydrargyri or Blue Mass. Blue Pills, as the drug was also known, were prescribed for a wide range of ailments from diarrhea to childbirth pain. And it was the go-to pill for treating melancholy.

Abraham Lincoln stopped taking Blue Mass, or Blue Pills, after five months in the Oval Office. He said they were “making him cross”. No doubt they were, as Lincoln was a changed man when he got off his meds. Let’s look at who this remarkable person was, his feats as President, and find out just what was inside those little blue pills.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a Kentucky log cabin. His family were dirt-poor, and Lincoln had little formal education. He was kicked in the head by a horse when he was nine and nearly died. He also suffered serious injuries by being clubbed unconscious during a robbery, nearly severing a thumb with an axe, experiencing severe frostbite on both feet, and breaking an arm.

Abe Lincoln was an unusual-looking adult—tall and gaunt. He was 6’ 4” and weighed 150-160 lbs. Lincoln had a notably drooping eye and disproportionate limbs. Some speculate he had a rare genetic disorder called Marfan Syndrome which could have accounted for his deformities.

Although Lincoln had little schooling, he was far from uneducated. He was a self-taught man and a true life-long learner. He’d moved to Illinois in 1830 where he self-studied law and passed the state bar exam in 1836, setting up a practice in Springfield.

Politics called for Abraham Lincoln in 1847 when he was elected to one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was defeated for a second term and went back to practicing law. Lincoln became politically active again in the mid-1850s and gained fame with an outstanding performance in what’s known as the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

Abraham Lincoln lost his bid for the Vice Presidency in the 1856 general election. Defeat didn’t stop Mr. Lincoln, and he was elevated to the Office of President of the United States of America in 1860. His official inauguration was on March 4, 1861. In two months, the American Civil War would break out.

Lincoln experienced extreme sadness and grief during his life. His beloved mother died when he was twelve. The same year, he lost his affectionate aunt and uncle. His first wife died unexpectedly, and two of the four boys he had with his second wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, died in their childhood.

Lincoln’s law partner, John Todd Stewart, described him as “an unfortunate and miserable man… the most striking picture of dejection I have ever seen.” Lincoln self-assessed in a preserved letter. It read:

I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I cannot tell; I awfully forbode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me. I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.

John Todd Stewart is on record that Abraham Lincoln was prescribed Blue Mass for his depression as early as 1841 when Lincoln was thirty-two. It’s not known if this was daily for the next twenty years but Lincoln, himself in his diaries, recorded that he stopped ingesting the pills in August of 1861 at age fifty-two. This was right at the time Lincoln made the momentous decision to sign the Confiscation Act that seized Confederate possessions including slaves and when his most capable soldier, General Nathaniel Lyon, was killed in battle.

In sobriety, Abraham Lincoln executed his duties of the Office of the President in exemplary fashion. He became a figurehead of calm reason—a man of vision and calculation—who inspired others to fight on and win the solidarity of the union as well as being instrumental in freeing America’s enslaved. Tragically, The Great Emancipator was assassinated on April 15, 1865. The Gettysburg Address is one of his legacies.

It’s far more than a coincidence that Abraham Lincoln’s emotional condition improved, or stabilized, when he stopped taking the Blue Mass pills. That’s well recorded and was observed by all those working with Lincoln or folks being familiar with the man. This leads to the logical question of just what was in those little blue pills that were making President Lincoln sick.

The ingredients of Pilula Hydrargyri or Blue Mass pills were no secret. They were well-known back in Lincoln’s day. Here’s the recipe posted in Medical Histories of the Union Generals:

  • 33 Parts Mercury
  • 5 Parts Licorice
  • 25 Parts Althaea
  • 3 Parts Glycerine
  • 34 Parts Rose Honey

33 Parts Mercury? Hold on. Mercury is a heavy metal that’s toxic to human beings when ingested and metabolized by the system. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune systems in people.”

All the symptoms Abraham Lincoln presented—gastrointestinal discomfort, headache, fatigue, fever, chills, insomnia, anxiety, hypervigilance, forgetfulness, immense sadness or despair, and uncontrollable mood swings including maniacal laughter as well as those unpredictable fits of rage—were consistent with side effects from mercury poisoning.

Here’s more information from the EFA about mercury:

Mercury is a naturally occurring chemical element found in rock in the earth’s crust, including in deposits of coal. On the periodic table, it has the symbol “Hg” and its atomic number is 80. It exists in several forms:

  • Elemental (metallic) mercury
  • Inorganic mercury compounds
  • Methylmercury and other organic compounds

Elemental (Metallic) Mercury

Elemental or metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white metal, historically referred to as quicksilver, and is liquid at room temperature. It is used in older thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs, and some electrical switches. When dropped, elemental mercury breaks into smaller droplets which can go through small cracks or become strongly attached to certain materials. At room temperature, exposed elemental mercury can evaporate to become an invisible, odorless toxic vapor. If heated, it is a colorless, odorless gas.

Elemental mercury is an element that has not reacted with another substance. When mercury reacts with another substance, it forms a compound, such as inorganic mercury salts or methylmercury.

Inorganic Mercury

In its inorganic form, mercury occurs abundantly in the environment, primarily as the minerals cinnabar and metacinnabar, and as impurities in other minerals. Mercury can readily combine with chlorine, sulfur, and other elements, and subsequently weather to form inorganic salts.  Inorganic mercury salts can be transported in water and occur in soil. Dust containing these salts can enter the air from mining deposits of ores that contain mercury. Emissions of both elemental or inorganic mercury can occur from coal-fired power plants, burning of municipal and medical waste, and from factories that use mercury. Inorganic mercury can also enter water or soil from the weathering of rocks that contain inorganic mercury salts, and from factories or water treatment facilities that release water contaminated with mercury.

Although the use of mercury salts in consumer products, such as medicinal products, have been discontinued, inorganic mercury compounds are still being widely used in skin lightening soaps and creams. Mercuric chloride is used in photography and as a topical antiseptic and disinfectant, wood preservative, and fungicide. In the past, mercurous chloride was widely used in medicinal products, including laxatives, worming medications, and teething powders. It has since been replaced by safer and more effective agents. Mercuric sulfide is used to color paints and is one of the red coloring agents used in tattoo dyes.

Human exposure to inorganic mercury salts can occur both in occupational and environmental settings. Occupations with higher risk of exposure to mercury and its salts include mining, electrical equipment manufacturing, and chemical and metal processing in which mercury is used. In the general population, exposure to mercuric chloride can occur through the dermal route from the use of soaps and creams or topical antiseptics and disinfectants. Another, less well-documented, source of exposure to inorganic mercury salts among the general population is from their use in ethnic religious, magical, and ritualistic practices and in herbal remedies.

Methylmercury

When inorganic mercury salts can become attached to airborne particles. Rain and snow deposit these particles on land. Even after mercury gets deposited on land, it often returns to the atmosphere, as a gas or associated with particles, and then redeposits elsewhere. 

As it cycles between the atmosphere, land, and water, mercury undergoes a series of complex chemical and physical transformations, many of which are not completely understood. Microscopic organisms can combine mercury with carbon, thus converting it from an inorganic to organic form. Methylmercury is the most common organic mercury compound found in the environment and is highly toxic.

So, if mercury is primarily used for industrial purposes and is highly toxic in human consumption, where did the idea come from to make it into medicine and poison someone like Abraham Lincoln? No one seems to know who first thought of swallowing little blue pills made with quicksilver, but the practice has been around a long time. Literature from the early 1800s recommends the generic name Blue Mass as a treatment for dysentery, constipation, syphilis, gonorrhea, melancholia, worms, tuberculosis, toothache, and more.

Here’s a quote: To be fair, it was probably equally effective for all those diseases… which is to say not effective at all for any of them.

And here’s some mercury poisoning trivia: Hat makers often suffered from the same syndrome as Lincoln. Constant exposure to a mercury compound used to treat felt hats gave them violent mood swings, inspiring the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Blue Mass pills have been off the market for decades. (By the way, the blue color came from blue chalk that was used as a buffing agent to help bind the mercury to the other ingredients.) No pills were thought to exist that could be analyzed by a modern forensics laboratory to determine the exact mercury content, or weight in each pill, which could show how over-medicated (read that as over-intoxicated) someone like President Lincoln would’ve been.

That was until a retired physician and medical historian, Norbert Hirschhorn, dug into the Lincoln case. Dr. Hirschhorn and the Royal Society of Chemistry struck gold—actually, quicksilver—in a medical museum. There, in a nicely crafted wooden box, were two vials marked Pilula Hydrargyri. Inside were a bunch of little blue pills.

Dr. Bin Chen, Senior Applications Chemist at PS Analytical in Kent, England, carried out a test on the Blue Mass pills. He found each contained 33.6% mercury in ground amounts that could easily be absorbed into a human body. Every pill contained 750 micrograms of elemental mercury—far above the EPA’s long-term mercury tolerance of 21 micrograms for the human body to safely withstand.

Quoting Dr. Chen: To think the President was meant to take three pills a day, every day, for how many years… that is appalling. He would have been consuming nine thousand times over the safety limit.

If this were the case, and there’s every reason to believe it was true, then the President suffered from heavy metal poisoning. It’s no wonder Abraham Lincoln had unpredictable fits of rage.

2024 — SET YOUR LUCK, NOT YOUR GOALS

Every January 1st, many folks reflect on the year gone by, and they plan for the year ahead. Part is goal setting, done through formats that work best for themselves. But some overlook their definite purpose—not clearly stating what they want to achieve. They set goals or list steps towards an undefined end. And what nearly everyone fails to set is luck. That’s making their purpose, goals, and steps align with seemingly random-chance forces of luck.

Happy New Year from the team of one at DyingWords. 2023 was productive, and I ticked off goals or steps in building my definite purpose. With luck, that’s completing a 26-episode streaming series titled City Of Danger. You can preview it here.

I also maintained a bi-weekly blog schedule, now entering its 12th year. Additionally, I appeared as a resource on 11 shows. Some were on-camera, and some were on-air with a few big hitters like Investigation Discovery, CBS, and NPR. I also found space to publish a new craft book on writing with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to rewrite/republish an older work called Interconnect—Finding Your Place, Purpose, and Meaning in the Universe. You can download Interconnect for free here.

For 2024, I’m saying “No” to most opportunities and focussing almost entirely on City Of Danger which is using AI production. In this venture, “learning curve” is an understatement. I started the project in April 2021 and, with luck, the goal in this purpose is to have it done by 2025. 2026 at the latest, depending on evolution of its interactive digital, audio, and visual storytelling technology.

Enough about me. How about you? Have you stated a 2024 purpose—small or big? Have you set some goals? And do you believe you can make luck improve your good fortune? Let’s talk a bit about goals, luck, and good fortune.

What got me going on this piece was yesterday’s issue of The Morning Brew. (If you don’t subscribe to The Brew, you’re missing out. Plus, it’s free.) One section was about goal setting and how sometimes it doesn’t turn out well because people set unrealistic goals—some ridiculous—that can’t be met, and their dreams are crushed. It mentioned an NFL linebacker whose goal was to make the first-round draft pick. When he was placed in the sixth tier, his soul was destroyed, and he dropped out to become a TV announcer.

The article linked me to a guy I’ve never heard of who turns out to be a big fish in the motivational pond. His name is Sahil Bloom, and he hosts Curiosity Chronicle. I rabbit-holed his site and found one of the best slices of goal-setting pies I’ve ever devoured. The Morning Brew has a great interview with Mr. Bloom, and I’ll list the highlights.

Bloom sets his distinct objective, or definite purpose as it’s known with the Napoleon Hill crowd. He then puts out three buckets. One is the A-Bucket containing ambitious goals. One is the B-Bucket with base goals. One is the C-Bucket with low-value goals. In other terms, major goals, moderate goals, and minimum goals.

The interviewer asked Bloom about the number one mistake he sees people make when setting goals. He answered, “I see people tying their future happiness to the achievement of some goal. How many times have you assumed your lasting happiness was on the other side of some goal? A promotion? A pay raise? Another degree? How many times have you been proven wrong in this assumption?”

Bloom continues. “The Arrival Fallacy is the term I use to describe the false assumption that achieving a certain goal will create lasting happiness in our lives. It’s a When-Then psychology. When I achieve X, then I’ll be happy. The reality is that achievement is not a lasting source of happiness. Our natural wiring, or hedonic adaptation, keeps us running. We reset to the baseline and start wondering what comes next. It’s the purpose you’re after. Not the goals.”

I did some further goal research and asked my trusty AI assistant this question. “What are goals as they pertain to human personal achievement?”

It replied, “Goals in the context of personal achievement refer to specific, measurable, and time-bound objectives that individuals set for themselves to work towards self-improvement, success, or the realization of a particular aspiration. Personal goals provide a sense of direction, motivation, and purpose in various aspects of life, including career, education, health, relationships, and personal development.

Examples of personal goals might include:

  • Career Goals: Achieving a specific position, completing a project, or acquiring a new skill.
  • Education Goals: Obtaining a degree, acquiring a certification, or expanding knowledge in a particular field.
  • Health and Fitness Goals: Losing weight, running a marathon, or adopting a healthier lifestyle.
  • Relationship Goals: Building stronger connections with family and friends or improving communication in a romantic relationship.
  • Personal Development Goals: Enhancing emotional intelligence, developing a growth mindset, or cultivating a new hobby.

The process of setting and working towards personal goals involves self-reflection, planning, and consistent effort. Breaking down larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks can make the journey more achievable and help maintain motivation along the way. Regularly reviewing and adjusting goals based on progress and changing circumstances is also a key aspect of effective goal setting for personal achievement.

I drilled deeper with, “What is the most effective goal-setting system or procedure?”

It told me, “There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to the most effective goal-setting procedure, as individuals have different preferences, styles, and needs. However, several widely recognized frameworks and strategies can help guide the process of setting and achieving goals. One popular and effective approach is the SMART criteria, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Here’s a breakdown of the SMART goal-setting framework:

  • Specific: Clearly define your goal. Be specific about what you want to achieve. The more precise your goal, the easier it is to create a plan of action.
  • Measurable: Establish measurable criteria to track your progress. Define how you will measure your success and know when you have reached your goal.
  • Achievable: Ensure that your goal is realistic and attainable. While it’s great to set ambitious objectives, make sure they are within reach given your resources and constraints.
  • Relevant: Align your goal with your broader values, priorities, and long-term objectives. Ensure that the goal is meaningful and relevant to your overall vision for personal or professional growth.
  • Time-Bound: Set a specific timeframe for achieving your goal. Having a deadline creates a sense of urgency and helps you stay focused on making progress.

Another valuable goal-setting model is OKR (Objectives and Key Results), commonly used in business settings but applicable to personal goals as well. OKRs involve setting clear objectives and defining key results that indicate progress toward those objectives.

Additionally, some people prefer a more holistic approach, incorporating the Wheel of Life or Life Mapping, which involves setting goals in different areas of life such as career, health, relationships, and personal development.

Regardless of the specific framework you choose, here are some general tips for effective goal setting:

  • Write Down Your Goals: Putting your goals in writing helps solidify your commitment and provides a reference point for tracking progress.
  • Break Down Goals: Divide larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks. This makes the process less overwhelming and allows for incremental achievements.
  • Regular Review: Periodically review your goals to assess progress and make any necessary adjustments. This ensures that your goals remain relevant and achievable.
  • Stay Flexible: Be open to adapting your goals based on changing circumstances or new insights. Flexibility is key to successful goal pursuit.

Ultimately, the most effective goal-setting procedure is the one that resonates with you and aligns with your personal preferences and needs. Experiment with different approaches and adjust as necessary to find a system that works best for you.

This all made sense to me, considering it’s coming from a bot. But I wanted to expand this piece into the subject of luck. So, I returned to a human at Mr. Bloom’s website.

Here I found an informative article titled The 4 Types of Luck. It’s on what luck really is. That’s making your purpose and goals align with the seemingly random-chance forces of luck and making luck work towards your advantage.

First, Mr. Bloom evoked the Oxford Languages English dictionary. It said this:

“Luck is success or failure apparently brought on by chance rather than through one’s own actions. Chance happenings beyond a person’s control.”

The 4 Types of Luck

In 1978, a neurologist named Dr. James Austin published a book titled Chase, Chance, & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty. In it, Dr. Austin proposed there are four types of luck:

  • I. Blind Luck
  • II. Luck from Motion
  • III. Luck from Awareness
  • IV. Luck from Uniqueness

Here’s how to think about each type.

Type I: Blind Luck

“The good luck that occurs is completely accidental. It is pure blind luck that comes with no effort on our part.”

Type I Luck is completely out of your control. It includes: Where you are born. Who you are born to. Base circumstances of your life. Acts of God. Type I Luck covers the truly random occurrences of the universe.

Type I Example: You win the lottery. Or, you’re out walking and a Russian satellite crashes on your head.

Type II: Luck from Motion

“Something else has been added—motion…A certain basic level of action ‘stirs up the pot’, brings in random ideas that will collide and stick together in fresh combinations, lets chance operate.”

Type II luck is a result of your motion. You’re creating motion and collisions through hustle and energy that you are inserting into an ecosystem. Type II Luck is derived through the expansion of your luck surface area from simple movement. The increase in collisions opens you up to more lucky events.

Type II Example: You start a new job and start saying yes to every opportunity that comes your way. You’re working hard, running around, meeting new people, and connecting new connections whenever possible. You connect two of the people you met through taking on these opportunities and they start a business together and make you a small advisor because you connected them. It becomes a big business and you make $1 million. Your hustle and motion created this “lucky” event.

Type III: Luck from Awareness

“Luck presents only a faint clue, the potential opportunity exists, but it will be overlooked except by that one person uniquely equipped to observe it, visualize it conceptually, and fully grasp its significance. Type III Luck involves involves a special receptivity, discernment, and intuitive grasp of significance unique to one particular recipient.”

Type III Luck is a result of your awareness and depth of understanding of a specific domain. This depth of understanding within a given arena allows you to become very good at positioning yourself for lucky breaks to benefit you.

The entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant summarized this type of luck beautifully: “You become very good at spotting luck.” You can “spot luck” from a mile away because of your depth of knowledge and experience.

Type III Example: You’re an entrepreneur and you see the impressive pace at which generative AI is developing for creating images and art. You had been building around the NFT profile picture craze of 2021/22 and believe that generative AI profile pictures may represent a market with similar potential. You build a generative AI profile picture app and charge people to use it, making millions. Your mind was prepared for the “lucky” opportunity given your experience set.

Type IV: Luck from Uniqueness

“Type IV Luck comes to you, unsought, because of who you are and how you behave…the links of Type IV can be drawn together and fused only by one quixotic rider cantering in on his own homemade hobby horse to intercept the problem at an odd angle… This type favors those with distinctive, if not eccentric hobbies, personal lifestyles, and motor behaviors.”

Type IV Luck occurs when your unique set of attributes attracts specific luck to you. It actually seeks you out.

Type IV Example: You’ve spent years tinkering with generative AI models (way before they were cocktail party fodder). Your unique passion and earned expertise means that you’re often called on by founders and CEOs building at the forefront of AI, and you’re able to earn equity in a variety of interesting projects that will likely return millions. Your unique and quirky hobby attracts luck to you.

The Art & Science of Luck

Typically, Type I, Type II, and Type III Luck arrives in stages:

  • Type I dictates the early years of your life.
  • Type II comes into play as you begin to hustle in your 20s.
  • Type III sets in as you develop deep experience in your 30s and beyond.
  • Type IV is more dislocated from age dependency.

To help remember this framework, here’s an infographic you can reference in the future.

Okay, enough plagiarizing from Mr. Bloom. (However, if you’d like to further explore his content, here’s the link to his site Curiosity Chronicle. And please sign his mailing list—his goal is to have 1 million followers by the end of 2024. Now, back to my trusty AI friend who I asked, “What is luck?”

It replied, “Luck is a concept that refers to the unpredictable and uncontrollable force or chance that influences events and outcomes in one’s life. It is often perceived as a mysterious and arbitrary force that can bring about positive or negative results without any apparent connection to personal effort, skill, or merit.

Luck is subjective and can be interpreted differently by individuals based on their beliefs, experiences, and cultural backgrounds. Some people attribute certain events to luck, seeing it as a factor beyond their control, while others may view outcomes as the result of their own actions and choices.

In many cultures, luck is often associated with superstitions, symbols, and rituals. People may engage in behaviors or use objects they believe bring good luck while avoiding those associated with bad luck. Additionally, the concept of luck is frequently used in casual conversation to explain unexpected successes or failures.

It’s important to note that the perception of luck is subjective, and various factors, including individual perspectives, cultural influences, and cognitive biases, contribute to how people understand and interpret the role of luck in their lives.

I asked, “How can a person improve their luck?”

It replied, “While luck is often considered unpredictable and beyond one’s control, there are certain attitudes and behaviors that individuals can adopt to potentially increase their chances of positive outcomes. Keep in mind that these suggestions do not guarantee luck but may contribute to creating opportunities and fostering a positive mindset:

Positive Attitude: Cultivate a positive mindset and outlook on life. Positive thinking can help you approach challenges with resilience and creativity, increasing your ability to recognize and seize opportunities.

Preparation and Hard Work: The saying “luck favors the prepared” suggests that being well-prepared and putting in effort can create circumstances that may lead to positive outcomes. Work hard, stay dedicated to your goals, and be persistent.

Openness to Opportunities: Be open to new experiences and opportunities. Sometimes luck comes from unexpected sources, and being receptive to change can increase your chances of stumbling upon fortunate situations.

Networking: Building a strong network of connections can provide access to valuable information and opportunities. Engage with people in your field, attend events, and be open to collaborations.

Continuous Learning: Stay curious and committed to learning. Acquiring new skills and knowledge can broaden your perspectives and make you more adaptable to different situations.

Risk-Taking: Taking calculated risks can lead to potential rewards. Evaluate risks carefully and be willing to step out of your comfort zone when the situation warrants it.

Resilience: Developing resilience can help you bounce back from setbacks and adapt to changes. The ability to persevere through challenges is often seen as a factor in long-term success.

Mindfulness and Intuition: Pay attention to your intuition and practice mindfulness. Being aware of your surroundings and trusting your instincts can sometimes guide you toward favorable decisions.

Helping Others: Acts of kindness and helping others can create a positive ripple effect. Building good relationships and being supportive can lead to reciprocity and unexpected opportunities.

Adaptability: Stay flexible and adaptable in the face of change. Being able to adjust to different circumstances can help you navigate challenges and take advantage of unforeseen opportunities.

While these suggestions may contribute to a more positive and proactive approach to life, it’s essential to acknowledge that luck is not entirely within one’s control. External factors, chance, and circumstances also play a significant role in shaping outcomes.

My thanks to internet resources The Morning Brew, Sahil Bloom of Curiosity Chronicle, and my trusty assistant ChatGPT. My takeaway from goals and luck? Have a purpose, put it out to the ether, have faith, process what comes back, and persist towards that purpose. By increasing your exposure—your purpose—you’re setting your luck.

So set your luck, not your goals, and have good fortune in 2024!