Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Perhaps,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “What great luck!” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Perhaps,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Perhaps,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Perhaps,” said the farmer.
Human nature has wired our brains to judge achievement and setbacks on an immediate basis. When things go wrong, we throw our hands up right away. This leads to these sort of “half stories,” which limit our potential.
   Half story: I was turned away from +10 companies my senior year of college.
…Bad luck.
   Full story: The week of graduation, a role opened and I got a job at Google.
…Good luck.
Same story, different luck.
This extends itself beyond setbacks; what about the way we consume news? Most headlines may as well read, “We don’t know all the details, but we’re confident this is bad.”
Immediate judgement prohibits us from seeing the full picture, when in reality, the story isn’t complete.
Before we’re able to declare luck (good or bad), our stories need time to develop.
Which story have you ended too quickly?
Is that setback actually the beginning to a great luck tale of your own?
“Perhaps.”