Don’t Press Your Luck
- Laura
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
I firmly believe that – in almost every situation – we make our own luck. I know people won’t agree with me, those people who believe that you have to be in the right place at the right time, yadda, yadda, yadda, but I feel strongly that we largely make our own way in this world (humans having free choice and all).

That is not to say that encouragement – inner or outer – can’t have an important sway on how we see and or do things. For example, if someone hears consistent chatter that they are going to succeed, that person has got an edge over someone staring at their toes, on the fence, even to decide whether to throw their hat in the arena.
So, enter “LUCK.” In my mind, luck is at play whenever success is arbitrary. That means, to me at least, that you might as well pray to Buddha or say the rosary or wish upon a star – or do nothing – and the outcome will be the same.
I can say I am extremely lucky to have survived my second suicide attempt. The first attempt was not immediately life-threatening (though I bear the scars); my second attempt was much more serious and was, in part, responsible for my being hospitalized long-term at The Menninger Clinic. I don’t feel as though my survival is the product of providence or answered prayers; rather, I simply count myself lucky and fortunate to have beaten the odds.
Why? Because luck has nothing to do with skill or dedication or commitment. And I often feel ambivalent about luck having played a role in my surviving my suicide attempt. Sometimes, I wish that I had NOT gotten lucky. I recall waking up in a hospital room thinking, why? Why?? WHY??? WHY am I still alive? I had a LOT of anger for a long time that I survived. In fact, to be brutally honest, I still have days when I curse the universe that I am still alive.
After my second suicide attempt, I remember a doctor coming into my room and haughtily informing me that my liver was failing and that I was not eligible for a transplant (because, he said, of my having attempted suicide). I remember thinking, “Good! Maybe I WILL die after all!!” To this day, I look back at my suicide attempts and am conflicted: as I said, there are plenty of days when I feel frustrated that I didn’t die.
It seems to me that “luck” is involved in much of what we do on this earth during our lives. Yes, there are times when things go our way because we have practiced or studied or planned, but I don’t happen to believe in providence, fate, or destiny. Instead, I very much believe in free will and in writing your own life script through your personal choices.
So yes, I believe we make our own luck and forge our own way through this difficult journey called life. Note: I realize that not everybody is going to agree with my stance on destiny and fate – and that’s ok. I’ll do me, you do you. However you choose to make sense of your existence, I hope you remember that you are NOT without agency. So go after what it is that you want – don't settle for the passivity of fate or destiny. Make your own luck.