Some people are born lucky.
They are born smart, talented, beautiful, wealthy, or some combination of these.
Most of us are not.
Most of us have to work for what we have, what we want, and who we want to be.
To compare ourselves to the lucky is beyond foolish.
The lucky did not become so on their own.
They did not work for it.
They did not will it into being.
It is not something they had control over.
It is not something they earned.
It serves no purpose to envy that which another person has or is, especially when they played no role in having or being it.
Envy will not help us to be more lucky.
Luck is unreliable and difficult to replicate.
It is far better to focus on that which we can control, that which we can change, and that which will actually improve our lives, our position, and our character.
Envy of another person is distraction enough from our own power, our own capabilities, and our own potential, but to be envious of luck is to admit that we have no hope of or plan for improvement.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
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