Why luck is not just luck

Luck, fate, well-being, bliss, happiness… There are a whole host of expressions that seem to mean the same thing.
About the terms and their meanings

“Phew, I was really lucky!”

“He has more luck than sense…”

“I'm doing great, I'm really happy right now”

“Come on, let’s try it, and see if we get lucky!”

These sentences are just a few examples of how we use the word "happiness" today. And because I find this little word so fascinating and rich in meaning, I decided to dedicate an entire blog post to it...

Word meanings

Where do we look when we search for the meaning of a word? In the dictionary (or more likely, on Google… But it amounts to the same thing.  ). So if you search in the Duden for “luck”, you come across three different meanings of the word:

1. something that is the result of a combination of particularly favorable circumstances; a particularly favorable coincidence, a favorable twist of fate
2. the personified happiness (1); Fortuna
   (Example: luck is blind, capricious, changeable)
3. pleasant and joyful state of mind that one finds oneself in when one comes into possession of or enjoys something that one has desired; a state of inner satisfaction and elation

These definitions are no surprise to us German speakers. Nevertheless, I keep stumbling over the word. In my field of study, psychology, it's used repeatedly to describe people, for example. However, it's often not immediately clear what kind of happiness is meant.
In English it is easier: Luck refers to luck in the sense of a favorable coincidence. Happiness on the other hand, means the joyful state of mind.

Personally, I mostly use the term “luck” when I mean fate or coincidence, and otherwise I tend to use “well-being,” “feeling of happiness,” or “bliss.”

Since this blog is also about mindfulness, I would like to focus today on happiness in the sense of well-being.

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The pursuit of happiness…

...is, on the one hand, the title of a 2006 film with Will Smith (original title: “The Pursuit of Happyness”). It's about the American Dream, which many of us probably associate with this phrase. But Aristotle already declared in the 5th century BC: “All people strive for happiness.” And that seems to still be the case today. Isn't that really what all people strive for, or at least what they hope for? To be happy and to have a sense of purpose. One could probably delve infinitely deeply into this topic and illustrate the meaning of the pursuit of happiness using the history of mankind as an example. But even on a fairly superficial level, it can be said that everyone has a certain idea of ​​what happiness means.

What well-being and happiness look like

On the one hand, there are certain similarities among people about what makes them happy: health, family, money, work, security... And yet, everyone also has their own personal interpretation. For some, reading a book makes them happy, for others, going for a run. Some define happiness as spending time with other people, while others prefer being alone. For some people, summer is the epitome of happiness, while others look forward to winter. As we can see, happiness seems to be a very individual thing, leading, among other things, to people preferring different lifestyles and pastimes.

These different ideas of happiness can, of course, change over time. Depending on age, life situation, and circumstances, different things make us happy. Aristotle noted that when asked about happiness, everyone names something different, "and often the same person names different things: when sick, health; when poor, wealth."

Likewise, happiness is also seen as something that is achieved once certain conditions are met or possessions can be acquired. We are all familiar with phrases and thoughts like "If I had this or that, I would be happy" or "If I have achieved my goal, then I will be happy."
People need extrinsic and manifest motivators to give meaning to their lives and to feel like they're doing something worthwhile. But that doesn't mean they have to be unhappy in the present.

From a spiritual perspective, well-being and happiness actually always come from within and have a lot to do with one's mental attitude. You'll learn how to find and maintain happiness in my next mindfulness blog post.

What makes you truly happy? Share it with us in the comments :)

If you enjoyed this and would like to learn more about healthy eating, mindfulness or sustainability, Check out many more exciting blog articles on these topics here.

PHOTO BY LESLY JUAREZ ON UNSPLASH