Luck might play a bigger role in shaping our destiny than we're willing to admit.

Okay, hear me out. I know a lot of you might disagree with my opinions, and that's fine. I just want to put forward my perspective.

From what I've observed, our family, environment, health, guidance, financial condition and countless other factors play a significant role in shaping our lives. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I'd even argue that qualities like good mental health, resilience, the ability to delay gratification, and emotional regulation are heavily influenced by our genes, brain chemistry and the environment we grow up in. Sometimes, things coincidentally line up in a way that favors success, and sometimes they don't.

I do agree that hard work and effort play a massive role, but we can't simply pretend that everything else doesn't matter.

We want to believe we live in a just, meritocratic world, but the reality is that the playing field isn't level.

I'm not saying any of this to discourage anyone. In fact, I believe we should work as hard as we can. But sometimes, despite our best efforts, things simply don't work out, and you don't always have to blame yourself or stress over it.

Be kind to yourself.