How Lucky or Blessed Are You?
This is probably the most busy generation this world ever had. We work a lot. When we work, we increase the number of possible outcomes for everything we do. Some outcomes are terrible from our perspective, and we view some as forms of success. The latter is not a concern for us right now, so let’s focus what generally happens in the first situation. We outsource the blame to luck. This forms the basis of a phenomenon called the self-serving bias. Although it’s impossible to “calculate” how lucky you are in a particular situation, we’re going to try it here on a very small scale.
If you’re actually reading this, it means you’re alive, and you made it beyond five years on this planet, which many are not able to do. Till the time of writing this article, 22,519,529 people have died this year. That brings you in top 99.7108 percent of people in this world. Not very impressive, but okay. Let’s move ahead.
Now if you’re reading this article, it means you have access to internet and some sort of digital device, by any means whatsoever. That puts you in the top 59 percent people in the world. You have to agree, that’s pretty impressive. Let us also assume that you have access to electricity as well (yes, it is independent of the fact that you have internet access). Here also, you were in lucky enough not to be among that 13 percent who still don’t.
Moving forward, it is highly unlikely (not absolutely impossible though) that you would have not satisfied your hunger or your thirst before this pleasure reading.
According to this report, you are in the top 88 percent people in the world when it comes to food security. You could have been born among those hungry 12 percent. It’s low, but it’s not zero. On a similar note, 33 percent of people don’t have access to safe drinking water (which, of course I assume you do, otherwise you would be dead or getting some treatment in a hospital).
Oh, coming to hospitals, it is nearly impossible that you never needed some sort of medical treatment. I would not be afraid to say that the percentage of people who have access to proper healthcare or sanitation services is not more than 60 or 70 percent. I would not be going for WHO report on this one, because it may be misleading.
It is also highly likely that you are using your fingers to scroll this page. This subsequently means you should have some of your limbs properly functioning. If they are, you were saved from more depression and anxiety than you already suffer from.
Further, let us assume that you are reading this article on your device in the comfort of some shelter (for example, your home). Then again you were lucky enough not to fall in that 2 percent bracket of homeless people around the planet.
If you have a home, then it would be fair to assume that you have some family. You are far better off than those who are currently living alone, whose relatives are dead (at least to them). That feeling of solitude is known to be a major psychological vulnerability. So congratulations, you are avoiding that too.
So please, the next time you think that your luck ditched you or you don’t feel blessed enough, thank them for all they have provided you, and forgive them for what they couldn’t.
