Sometimes I realise that people I know — _things_ happen to them. Things happen to people. To me, rarely anything happens. And I feel bad or weird.
Then I reflect on the kinds of things that happen to other people, and most often it's that they inadvertently flushed their expensive engagement ring down the toilet, got into a brawl at a bar and so later had to face trail, realised they had a pair of dirty briefs sticking out at the end of their trouser leg in the middle of a very important meeting with clients, didn't pay a very expensive medical bill in a certain US state thus banning themselves from ever setting foot on that state again for life, very narrowly escaped death from asphyxiation due to a malfunctioning boiler, forgot to engage the parking brake on a slope and found their car a few metres down the road, resumed their road trip after having stopped at a gas station and realised they had been going for an hour with one family member less (all real anecdotes from friends, acquaintances and relatives)…
…and then I think it's probably OK that things don't happen to me. Perhaps I'm better that way, after all 😃
Yeah, I attribute this difference to different ways of behaving. I tend to be better organised than most people I know: in my routines, in my personal space, in my chores, etc. You could even say I have a mild case of OCD, I guess. While that prevents me from doing some great and fun things and make the most of serendipity and improvisation, I gain a lot of stability and quality of life.
Also, I rarely go out until late, I rarely drink in any meaningful way, and I am not confrontational or violent. That, too.
More impulsive people and those who are all over the place seem to have lots of pleasant surprises and do exciting things. But often luck goes the other way for them, too.
All in all, I think I'm OK as I am. It just suits my personality.
@tripu You describe many aspects of my behaviour as well, being rather introvert. In the end, when adding up all the good and bad events the sum is probably similar to that of more impulsive and extrovert people. But the curve is much smoother. I appreciate that.
@tripu I can relate ... and I think it's about how much we reflect our own behaviour before acting. My double check routines don't just prevent leaving relatives at gas stations but regularly save me a lot of money, too.
There's currently a silly season story spread in German media about an Austrian family that chose the wrong place of Salzburg in their navigation device. They didn't realise their mistake until their arrival after roughly 500 km into the wrong direction 🤷