Summary
Lucky is the man who does not secretly believe that every possibility is open to him: Today, I want to talk about the quote which makes us think about the possibilities in life. Most of the inspirational books we read talk about the importance of believing that anything is possible. However, there's a limitation to this belief. It makes it very difficult for us to narrow into a particular area to focus our energies. We can never be experts at everything we do. At some point, we'd need to choose a path to attain mastery in.
Lucky is the man who does not secretly believe that every possibility is open to him: Today, I want to talk about the quote which makes us think about the possibilities in life. Most of the inspirational books we read talk about the importance of believing that anything is possible. However, there’s a limitation to this belief. It makes it very difficult for us to narrow into a particular area to focus our energies. We can never be experts at everything we do. At some point, we’d need to choose a path to attain mastery in.
Mastery demands that we focus our energies on one thing. You may recall the famous 10,000hrs adage about developing mastery in something. Unless we find out what we want to focus on, how are we supposed to invest 10,000hrs in each one of these to develop that exceptional capacity? Mastery by nature demands that we find something to focus on and develop our skills. In a way, lucky is a man who does not secretly believe that every possibility is open. Some roads need to be closed for us in order for some others to open up and pave a way for us to move forward with life.
Lucky is the man who does not secretly believe that every possibility is open to him
I have always believed in the world of possibilities. My 20’s have been spent believing that anything in the world is possible. As I get older, I realise the fallacy of this or the beauty of the hubris which makes us believe in this. However, as the practical limitations kick in, it makes me wonder more about the truth in this quote. Lucky is the man who does not secretly believe that every possibility is open to him.
I know it conflicts with the world of possibilities and imposes limitations in our life. Perhaps these limitations are not such a bad thing after all. The limitations make us think about our specialisations, implore within to identify what we are good at. Limited options also make us think about our strengths and how we can differentiate ourselves.
Imagine if anything and everything was possible, life would be very difficult indeed. We’d struggle to identify something specific to focus on trying to do everything. How do you even start when you think that you are good at everything. A good choice entails that you have a finite set of things to choose from. If the sample itself is so large, then how do you start figuring out your starting point?
Lucky is the man who does not secretly believe that every possibility is open to him
– Walker Percy
English