The Equation of Luck

Hello. This is Aoyagi. This week's column is about the "Formula of Luck." I recently learned about this phrase and became very curious, wondering, "Is there really a formula for luck?" Because I used to think that "luck," whether good or bad, was something beyond my control.

Upon researching, I found that there's a concept that luck is composed of four elements. Luck = (Action × Diversity + Perception) × Resilience

The first is Action. How much concrete action one takes in life, how many challenges one undertakes. This is also one of my themes for this year. The second is Diversity. It means not just repeating the same things, but increasing experiences and challenges of different kinds. I am strongly conscious of this as well. I try my best not to be picky or have preconceived notions, and to approach various things with interest. The third is Perception. How well one can notice various possibilities, hints, and opportunities in daily life. I believe it's important to always be alert and think deeply about one's goals every day. And the fourth is Resilience. The ability to recover after a failure and move forward again. Among these four, what particularly caught my attention was "Resilience."

While I'm much better now, in the past, I used to often get depressed over little things and feel like I was useless, quite routinely. I once asked my wife about it, and she said, "That's not true at all, you should actually worry more!" (laughs) I've forgotten the exact trigger, but my way of thinking changed after I turned 30. It was the realization that if I'm going to spend the same amount of time, it's better to spend more of it feeling positive than negative. The one thing everyone has equally is time. 24 hours a day. 365 days a year. Sooner or later, everyone will die anyway (laughs). When you think about it that way, it's definitely better to have more positive feelings while you're alive, isn't it? Perhaps "lucky people" are those who, even if they fail, can realize various things because of that failure and feel that they were lucky. This also connects to another word that has recently caught my attention: "reframing." Next week, I plan to delve deeper into "reframing." Thank you for always reading to the end!