Do some people have inherently bad luck?

[Onlyrainbows]

For the most part I don't believe in bad/good luck nor karma but my last 12-18 months do make me wonder some people simply have "worse luck" than others.

I think it’s true yes. I seem to be very unlucky.

Yes they do... a lot of things can be looked at in two different ways tho. Losing your job, is it bad luck or an opportunity to look for something different. But there are cases where some people have bad health for no other reason than being unlucky, it's not lifestyle etc and in those cases, yes it's bad luck

I think it depends. A lot of people seem to be ‘lucky’ on the surface, but there’s actually been a lot of planning and foresight going into that luck.
For example, choosing to marry someone ‘sensible’ who wants kids as well, or choosing a boring career that ultimately pays quite well.

Similarly, never having any holiday disasters is probably a result of hours of planning, trawling Tripadvisor and checking passports well in advance.

BUT some things are pure dumb luck, such as being healthy / having healthy kids. Or being naturally beautiful / very intelligent.

I also think it's true, myself and my husband are very unlucky.

No. There is no such thing as 'luck', the universe is inherently chaotic. It neither punishes nor rewards you, it just is.

Are there multiple ways of looking at a situation? Yes, so while one person may see losing a job as 'bad luck', another may see it as an opportunity.

It's all about perception.

A lot of it's about attitude as well; if I list some of the things that have happened to me over the last couple of decades, people tend to say things like 'you've been really unlucky'.

But I don't feel it. Life's been hard in some ways but we're pretty content.

No such thing as luck, it’s all about how you perceive circumstances.
Derren Brown did a good show on this a few years ago - someone who thought they were lucky would just look out for more opportunities and have a more positive outlook.

It isn't luck, but yes? Because 1) In a lot of things you create your own luck through your previous choices and 2) because good things and bad things often come in runs due to the first one influencing the next one - eg: you get very ill and that causes you to lose your job, which causes you to lose your quality of life OR you get an award, which leaves to a promotion, which leads to being asked to appear on the telly etc etc.

I think some things you can plan sure...

I was made redundant the day I exchanged contracts for my new house. That ended up being a good thing because I doubled my salary. (Still extremely stressful at the time).

Having a chronic condition like anemia (and it literally drains my life away when running low on iron) can't see the positive about it. Nor being diagnosed with cancer (especially if you've done everything in your power like routine checks etc...)

leaves/leads, obviously

The concept of it depending how you view something doesn’t always apply though. Falling off a ladder and breaking your arm; being involved in a car accident and breaking your ribs; and slipping on the floor and dislocating your shoulder (three things which have all happened to my poor neighbour in the last year) can’t really be turned on their head and a positive view taken.

I don’t think luck exists though, agree that life and the universe is just a inherently chaotic mix of things happening, some of which will be good and others bad.

I believe in luck

I think we (my husband and I) are very fortunate / lucky.

My husband thinks he is unlucky!

Circumstances are exactly the same.

I think it is more about expectations and ability to brush things off (I am good at that!).

Yes. If you were born during a waning moon, or god forbid, a new moon, you’ll have shit luck.

Kate Middleton was born on a full moon, Prince George was born on a super moon. Anyone I’ve ever met who seems to lead a charmed life were born on or just before a full moon.

I know it sounds bonkers but there is a correlation, in all of the people I’ve looked up anyway.

Same here. Husband and I were both born during a waning moon (exact same phase, waning gibbous) and if we didn’t have bad luck, we’d have no luck at all ☹️

I think I’m lucky, things go well for me generally.

When life is tough Im quite good at shrugging stuff off and I think that being resilient and having a positive attitude makes the difference between overcoming a bit of adversity because you’re lucky and not.

I don't believe that some people are born to be lucky or unlucky, but the thing about luck is that it's random. So it's quite possible for one person to have several unlucky things happen to them in a year, while another person may be relatively lucky during that time.

It's like tossing a coin - on average you'll get heads 50% of the time, but occasionally you'll get 5 heads in a row.

I do also agree with the stuff about how you perceive it. If you're a "glass half full" person you're more likely to think of yourself as lucky.

A bit lucky they have free access to the NHS, no? My DS and I both managed to break bones within a year of each other both requiring expensive surgeries, plates put in, physio etc.

If I’d of had to pay for it I’d of lost the house or I’d of had a cheaper option that effected my being able to work for the rest of my life.

To an extent we make our own luck, such as falling off a ladder isn't bad luck, it's 99% of the time because the person was doing something unsafe - very few "accidents" will be the ladder spontaneously collapsing due to manufacturing fault, which really would be bad luck. Not setting it on level ground, not having someone "foot" it, leaning over too far, not keeping one hand on the ladder isn't "bad luck", it's unsafe practice with foreseeable consequences! So cause and consequence.

Being diagnosed with one of the many forms of cancer that has no known causes, not contributed to by lifestyle etc., IS bad luck, particularly when there's nothing you could have done to prevent it.

But even with "bad luck", mental attitude plays a huge part. You can sit back and wallow in misery or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go again. Like others say above, redundancy can result in getting a better job. A positive attitude can help healing after injury or illness.

No, from watching other that tell me they have bad luck, I think some of their own actions have lead to the incidents they consider bad luck

My mum thinks people given the name Carol are always successful/lucky. She's yet to be proven wrong.

Oh I know a Carole that is neither successful or lucky unlucky. Riddled with disease and married to a twat

People can have different circumstances and different amounts of choices available to them, and some of that is chance, some of that is the product of lots of choices.

I don't believe that some people are inherently lucky or unlucky.

I think the start we have in life makes a big difference. Social mobility has ground to a halt over the past 20 years so if you start out poor and disadvantaged you are more likely to stay poor and disadvantaged. Cycles of 'bad luck' can be inter-generational.

If you are born/grow up in an insecure household - be it poverty, parents with mental/physical health problems, family bereavement, domestic violence, substance abuse, parents with unhappy marriages etc, it leaves a trauma footprint on a young person. Traumatised people find it much harder to make good life decisions so patterns of disadvantage get repeated. (I'm speaking from personal experience here.)

Yes, I do know people who seem to have been (repeatedly) very unlucky through absolutely no fault of their own.

Some people, however, do IMO like to blame bad luck when much of it is down to their own behaviour/poor choices, etc.