Luck (noun)
“success or failure apparently brought about by chance rather than through one’s own actions”
I feel like this says it all, but because you don’t know the point I’m trying to get across, here’s some backstory..
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you achieve, there will always be someone who says ‘oh wow, you’re so lucky!’. Whether you’ve just tweeted about a promotion at work, or you’re Instagramming beach pics from a fabulous holiday, so many people jump to luck. Now don’t get me wrong, 9 times out of 10 this is probably meant as a compliment, but that’s just the thing. Unintentional as it may be, claiming luck invalidates the accomplishment.
Take bloggers for example. I follow so many incredible bloggers on Twitter, all of which produce great content, take photos that could easily appear in magazines and pour so much effort into their posts that they deserve every opportunity they get, but whenever they tweet in gratitude about one of their favourite brands reaching out to work with them, so many of the responses that come flooding in are ‘oh my gosh, this is amazing! You’re so lucky!’. Yes, it is amazing, but look at the definition of luck (see, I put it there for a reason), these things came about through hard work and determination, so that’s far from luck.
Personally, I hate being told that I’m lucky whenever I go on holiday. Sure, I guess I’m fortunate to have a job that pays well, but I earnt that job and I work hard in that job, plus I put in so much overtime for the very purpose of being able to pay for said holidays. And I suppose it helps that my outgoings aren’t too high, but again, that’s because I’m very careful with money, budget like a pro and know how to find a bargain. Yep, these are all sounding like my own actions..
I’m not saying that I’m not grateful for every opportunity that comes my way, because I am. I am so grateful and so thankful for everything I have, and there are so many things that I do think I’m lucky to have, such as my amazing family, incredible boyfriend and wonderful friends, because apart from somehow convincing them to be in my life, my actions had nothing to do with them being who they are, I just wish that we didn’t devalue accomplishments by suggesting luck has anything to do with it.
What do you think?
Lottie Does 
This is a great post. Hubby and I get lots of comments on how we are so lucky to be able to have such great holidays. I know to a certain extent that we are but we both work very hard to earn our wages and he does so much overtime that there are certain times I barely see him.
I 100% agree with this!!!
I work damn hard for what I have, I save my money well and I’m proud of that!
I’m in the process of buying a 3 bedroom house that needs a hell of a lot of work doing to it and keep getting told that I’m ‘lucky’ that’s my first home has 3 bedrooms. I worked hard and saved hard!
Thank you for writing this ❤️ Xx
Whilst most of us who are able to travel work very very hard to be able to I do think there is a element of luck involved. Lucky that you were born in the UK where women can work,drive and travel freely, where we are free to express ourselves, where we don’t live in a warzone, where there are jobs to be had, homes to be purchased, where there is food to eat and where there is free healthcare if you need it. Yes hard work is needed to get success but sometimes you need a little luck too.