Oh, It Was Just Luck

I remember a friend of mine when she used to win ski races.
After my congratulations, she used to say, “Oh, it was just luck!”

At first, she didn’t pay attention to the toxicity of that phrase.
But I was fascinated by the different mindsets that she and I had.

She probably won 10 times more races than me.

But when people congratulated her, she used to say:
→    “Oh, it was just luck!”
Instead, when I won, I used to reply:
→     “Oh, thanks!”
… and in my mind, I used to think “I deserved it!”

The victory was practically the same, but the mindset was different—and even the mood after the race was different.

What helped her was taking some time every day and writing down her small daily achievements and positive feedback.

After a couple of months of this practice, she completely changed her mindset.
 
She went from “Oh, it was just luck!” to “I deserved it!”

So, if at the end of a successful project you find yourself saying:

 “Oh, it was just luck!”

stop a moment and reflect.

That mindset risks compromising not just your next project but also your daily mood.

So take a nice journal and write down your small achievements and positive feedback on a daily basis.

And if these days you hear someone say:
→    “I accomplished a lot this year, but it was probably just luck. Probably next year I won’t….”
encourage them to use this different sentence:
→    “I accomplished a lot this year. I deserved it! Next year I want to…'”
Imposter syndrome is a real deal. Let’s not downplay it. *
* What do you think? Have you ever met a person who said, “It was just luck!”?