The Tragedy of good luck

Day 210 / 365

The title of this blog is the title of a short film that I saw on youtube today. I won’t spoil it for you and I would recommend that you watch it yourself. This movie would leave you thinking- Are things objectively good or bad?

In the words of William Shakespeare

There is nothing good or bad, only thinking makes it so

There are so many things in life that seem bad to us when we are going through them. But in the future, we look back at them and realize that they were actually for the best. On the other hand, maybe partying hard with your friends when you are young might seem the greatest thing at the time, but later you may find yourself blaming the past version of you for not working hard.

And this distinction of good and bad is not just limited to a single individual. India losing the semi-finals made the Indians sad, but it sure made the New Zealanders happy. So was it a good thing or a bad thing?

So that’s all good and logical. But what good is this information? How does one apply this in their daily life?

It’s all goes back to the good old stoic philosophy. Nothing is good or bad for you. No external situation can make or break you. The only thing that matters is how you react to it. You can choose to perceive a setback or a failure as a learning opportunity. You can think of a challenge as a way for you to improve. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — Goodhart’s Law