Bad Luck, Bad Choices, and Bad Habits


We were at some friend's house the other day 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

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.

To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

MORE RESOURCES:
RELATED ARTICLES
Balance Of Life
Mary and Susan were friends for years. They grew up together and attended the same schools.
Your Telephone Voice Makes Your Success
We speak every day without fully recognizing the impact our voice has on the our success and that of our organizations. The voice that picks up the company telephone or speaks to the customer or supplier represents that organization, whether it's the receptionist, sales person, human resource rep, general manager or CEO.
Top Ten Ways To Create Positive Behavior Change
1. Open your mind to new ideas: Positive behavior change has to start with your thoughts.
Reach Your Goals - Review and Refine
Periodically re-check and refine (or redefine) your goals It's no use struggling to meet a goal that, by the time you get there, no longer fits in with your life.  During obvious stopping spots along the way (say, every 10 lbs on a weight loss goal, or when you've saved enough for a down payment as part of a house-ownership goal), take a few days to sit back and really feel how you are reacting to reaching this milestone.
Do You Know Your Success Barriers?
I can tell, with 95% accuracy, if you are going to succeed or fail in life and business based on your answer to the following question, "Do you mostly read for entertainment?"Reading for entertainment is a wonderful way to relax and get away from daily stress. However, in a society where your pay is based on your knowledge and skills, simply reading for entertainment is not enough.
Ingredients For Success
Management by Objectives, strategic planning, quality, teams, re-engineering. Passing management fads? Consultants, more consultants.
Creating Success - Understand The Tao of Success
One of the most important aspects of creating success involves a delicate balance between two somewhat opposing forces - REFLECTION and ACTION. This balance is very similar to the balance of Yin and Yang in the Tao philosophy.
Belief Helps You Succeed But Can It Win A Boat Race?
On March 27th 2005, Oxford won the annual boat race against their rivals, Cambridge.A commentator remarked that both teams believed 100% at the start that they would win.
Believing in Oneself is a Daily Commitment
"If you think you can or you think you can't - you're right!" Henry FordPrinciple 5 in The Success Principles by Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer is "believe in yourself". In that chapter Canfield refers to the negative power of the phrase "I can't"Remember the story of the little engine that could? The little engine had to get a huge load up a huge hill.
Why You Cant Budget For Success
Do you constantly find yourself saying "I can't afford it" or "It's not in my budget"?If so, when it comes to your business you need to replace those defeating words with "How can I generate the revenue that I need to invest in the success of my business?"This process is vital to the success of your business because thinking small will prevent big accomplishments.If you believe that you can't do what is necessary to grow your business, you are right.
Perseverance - Your Key To Success
If failure is the roadway, then Perseverance is the vehicle to success. Not to forget, Persistent determination of yours is to achieve the goal, your ultimate objective; not to deviate from the main vision of yours by acting presumptuously?.
What is Success and How Do We Achieve It?
To be clear about what success is must be the first step to achieving success.So far, the best definition I have come across is: "Success is the completion of anything intended.
How to Have an Amazingly Satisfying Year
I started taking stock of my year in 2002. I found it useful at the end of the year to list what I have accomplished, what I am thrilled about, what I wished had turned out differently, what I am proud of, what I learned, what were the pleasant surprises, and the not so pleasant ones, what I want to develop as a habit, and what I want to do differently in the future.
Success - Its Never Too Late
Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds, was over fifty when he started making money. Kroc was a paper cup salesman who obtained the marketing rights to a multi-mixer invented by Earl Prince.
10 Compelling Reasons to Stop Singing the Blues
Are you:- feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied with your life?- ready to stop holding yourself back from success?Is it time to:- get rid of self-sabotaging thoughts that keep you down?- say goodbye to the blues and take control of your life?Then the following life-changing information is for you!We're all born with the potential for living a fulfilled, happy and enjoyable life. Some of us achieve extraordinary success in business and in life, some of us watch others achieve it, and many wonder why they come up short.
8 Ways to Get Off The Success-Go-Round and Have a Consistent Flow of Success
Are you consistently chasing success? Once you achieve it, do you desperately try to continue the pattern of making it happen again? Isn't it time you got off the success-go-round? Here are 8 tips to help you make the transition from inconsistency to steady flow of success.1.
Lessons from My Garden
What does "Lessons from My Garden" have to do with "getting organized? One of the things I've learned after 20+ years as an organizing consultant is that organizing has something to do with everything!Here's how organizing principles apply to the art of gardening:"Half of any job is using the right tool!" (Note I said "using" - not "having!") It took a blister to convince me to buy a new pair of loppers to finish trimming the butterfly bushes. With the new tool, pruning was easy and painless.
Looking for Harvey Weinstein - The Book and the Business
Two Immigrants Live The American DreamSome may call it a purpose driven life yet the only thing religious about life for two middle aged British "resident aliens" living in Los Angeles is they rise at 5am and are usually asleep by nine.They rack up about a hundred hours between them in their average work week and have been in the same business for the last four years.
If Youre Not Ready - Dont Start!
There are times when we feel we should take action, but feel stuck or unsure. Action does assist with moving forward, but the first question to ask is "Am I ready?".
Forget Dreams...Have Visions!
Do you still keep that all important 'Inner Spark Alive'? ..