What role does luck play in your life? | Barry Schwartz

Chance plays a far bigger role in life than we're willing to admit, says psychologist Barry Schwartz. Of course, working hard and following the rules can get you far -- but the rest could boil down to simple good fortune. Schwartz examines the overlooked link between luck, merit and success, offering an intriguing solution to equalize opportunity -- starting with college admissions.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

[shumailcatherine]

If you're lucky enough to succeed, you must thrive to create opportunities for others. This is what makes a decent society.

[abuhuraira]

remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck

[LegoEddy]

The point is admitting that something great we did was just random luck would require us to be humble.
Admitting that something aweful that happened to us was just random luck would mean that it could happen again and again.
Both of which are not things people like to think about. People rather want to be proud of what they did and in control of what might hurt them.

[Marta-Lis]

I recently discussed the role of luck in our lives with my partner, after watching a very self-congratulatory business person talk about their journey. Luck plays an immense role, no matter what area of life, and recognising that makes one more humble.

[tharunthennarasu]

As a high school student in india waiting for my counselling
I'm getting tears watching a older guy fully understands the situation

[ElaFigura]

I agree that more and more kids today get depression and anxiety because of such high expectations. Social media also contributes to this and it's both alarming and sad.

[fkmyoutube]

The fact that I can watch TED now means I am lucky enough in life.

I am grateful.

[johanlugthart]

Nice talk. Two big luck factors in his life that he did not name but are I think were even more important for his success are:
1) Being born as a human
2) Being born in a wealthy country

[tristencovarrubias]

I am truly & heart-fully embittered by the first 4 minutes or so of this video... I graduated high school in 2007. I was at the top of my class, maybe not valedictorian, but close enough to look appealing to any college I was applying to. I had applied to multiple universities in- and out-of-state and several Ivy League. As my senior year came to a close, I became more & more riddled with anxiety & indecision as I had not received ANY letters of acceptance or even the dreaded “we regret to inform you...” responses. By the end of June, my family had encouraged me to accept an offer from a locally well-known sacro-religious private university not far from home and I did end up deciding to sign a letter of intent, out of guilt to perform up to their expectations more than anything. The following weeks I ended up receiving acceptance or waitlist offers from nearly every college/university that I had applied to due to some clerical error that my high school counselor had made while sending my transcripts. I stuck to my family’s advice & followed through with my letter of intent. I came to find out not halfway through my first semester that the college was not accredited and my intentions to transfer would have been for nothing with a transcript of units that did not transfer. I lost motivation and stopped attendance planning to speak with the other universities I had received acceptance letters from. I did, and they informed me that because I had attended classes at the first college I would need to have an accumulative 60 units to enroll. I started the following semester at a city/community college and began taking courses to transfer. Unfortunately, I suffered a deterioration of health & several personal loss of close family and gradually my attendance suffered... I often wonder what might have been had my luck with any of this series of events been any different at any point in time.

[shanghaitatoo]

We are born into our current race /country /families /circumstances purely by Luck. Life strated out this way for everyone! I love that he is suggesting that we break the illusion and be honest - if everyone can do this then we will not have arrogance, entitlement from people who were born lucky and had smooth run of life to success, we will also not have insecurity, low self-worth from people were born poor and humble, and had to fight their whole lives just for the same opportunities others have. What's more important is that, if we can honestly accept the role luck plays in our life's, we'd be more grateful to what we have, and be more willing to treat others the way we want to be treated. It's the mindset change the world needs.

[gameconjecture]

I really like his way of thinking about the world and how we should view it. And like he said I literally heard companies that just filter the applicants and selects x peple at random for an interview. Life is the biggest lottery.

[l.w.paradis]

Of course luck is a huge part of life. Don't people know anyone hit by a drunk driver? Or anyone who had pediatric cancer? Medical malpractice? Crippling depression? A parent who commits suicide? Or who died of COVID in spite of taking all precautions? The wisest people always acknowledge the role of luck, and understand its gravity. This was a great talk.

[rkuljbx]

Main points of discussion about luck and fair relationships:

Don't expect the end result,
don't think effort will not betray the results,

Many people think that if they work as hard and as smart as they can to push their limits, they will succeed. The answer is not at all.

There is no guarantee that you will succeed even with whatever strength you have.

Of course you deserve success with the hard work you put in
so is this fair? certainly not fair...
rationally it's unfair, but that's how it is… we can't control it

"It's not true that everyone gets what they deserve, some people get what they deserve and some people don't" - Barry Schwartz

than pretending not to know it, it is better to know it.
therefore, it is better to admit that "luck" also plays a role in the final outcome of your hard work ...


Does knowing the phrase "luck", not need to work hard?
Of course you still have to work hard,
by receiving "luck", you will avoid anxiety and depression, you will focus more on what you can control.

my conclusion :
Your hard work is only a condition for achieving success, not the end result you have set... 😊

[dumvivimus]

The American idea of working hard to succeed has always missed this very important idea. Luck is absolutely a part of success.

[JTK]

Understanding the huge role that luck plays in our lives has made me compassionate towards all living things. This includes criminals because let’s face it, no one asks to be born to become a threat in life.

[MrBraveheart]

There is not either such a thing as karma, I have known very good people almost saints who suffer a lot and get hit by life terribly, and others that are evil but lead very nice confortable lives

[Zoomo]

"Our happiest times are those in which we forget ourselves, usually in being kind to someone else. That tiny moment of self-abdication is an act of true humility: the man who loses himself finds himself and finds his happiness." Fulton J Sheen

God Bless America and Good Luck.

[MKTElM]

I like this man . He is what Dostoevsky would describe as a good man . He has many helpful things to say . We always come out with something meaningful, some better understanding of life and our predicament when we listen to someone like him . Exuding honesty, humility, and wisdom . Thanks Barry Schwartz .

[nabieladrian]

Sir Barry, if you happened to see this, i want to personally thank you for your life.

I don't know much what happened in your life, i don't know your feeling neither. But i deeply honor you, for the life you've given.

[beatricehart]

I always tell my partner that life is a series of bad and good 'coincidences', basically good luck and bad luck. If we understand this simple concept, we can remain humble and compassionate in spite of our success and we can also handle loss, failure and death much better.