Bad Luck, Bad Choices and Bad Habits by Chris Widener

We were at some friend's house some time ago and the wife mentioned some other acquaintances of ours. "It sure is too bad, all the bad luck they have," she said.

My first thought was, "Bad habits, not bad luck."

My second thought was, "Or is it bad choices?"

You see, there is a difference. What we many times call bad luck is merely bad choices.

Let me explain:
If you work hard, buy a new car, keep it up with regular maintenance and blow a tire driving down the road, that is bad luck.

However, if you drive on your tires until they are almost bald and drive at speeds higher than they are recommended for, and keep them at the wrong inflation level, and then the tire blows, that is not bad luck but bad choices. The tire blew because you chose not to buy new ones. The tire blew because you chose not to take the time to check your tire inflation level the last time you filled up the tank.

It is bad luck to leave your house on vacation and while you are away the gas line breaks and the house blows up.

It is bad habits to not tend to taking care of your house, replacing the roof, painting, etc until it is a junk pile.

It is bad luck to be let go from a company that goes into meltdown because the CEO acted unethically and the stock tanks, forcing layoffs.

It is both bad choices and bad habits to be late to work everyday, display shoddy workmanship and have a bad attitude to the point that the boss fires you.

If you choose to frequent shady parts of town or risky establishments, and you get mugged, is that bad luck or bad choices?

You get the point.
How often do we call something bad luck when it is really the result of bad habits or bad choices?

This really boils down to a matter of ownership of our lives and actions. Do we take full responsibility for our lives or not?

I know of a gentleman who was recently passed over for a job. It would have paid him $13,000 for a week's worth of work. The person who passed him over told me why. Knowing this gentleman, I said, "It is too bad, because with a few good choices, that guy could be living in a nice house, driving nice cars, and having very few financial problems."

What about you? Do you experience bad luck? Or bad habits? Or bad choices?

The next time you hear someone say, "He's down on his luck," perhaps you ought to ask, "Or is he down on his choices?"

I have found that those who have good habits and make good choices tend to experience the best luck!
So, if you want a little good luck, make some good choices and develop some good habits.

"Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get." -- Ray Kroc

"When I work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, I get lucky." -- Dr. Armand Hammer

-- Chris Widener