One Ticket. One Thursday.
Give me the 'could be' over the 'will be'
No matter which game you play, in what country, your odds of winning the lottery are ridiculously small.
Many believe that playing frequently or increasing the bet moves the odds in your favour. It doesn’t. Prizes account for between 50% and 60% of lottery receipts—a terrible investment by any measure. Yet hopefuls form syndicates, pool money, and in some cases, sadly, forgo necessities to have a seat at the table.
A ticket isn’t a map to gold. It’s a temporary lease on a horizon that didn’t exist yesterday.
Primarily, our lives exist within the walls of the Known. We know our salary, our commute, and precisely what Tuesday looks like. Our ceilings are permanent — or, in my case, leak.
But for the recovering pessimist, the ticket serves a different, less logical function. The cynic sees a losing bet. The optimist sees a short-term lease on a space where the possible exists, if only for a moment.
Sign me up. One ticket. Thursday. Between now and then, the optimist in me will fleetingly flirt with what ‘could be’.
Nick
Note. And, behaving responsibly, I should remind you that there are many ways to find that ‘short-term lease’ on what ‘could be’.
External reading (4 mins):
How Optimism and Pessimism Influence Well-Being - I include this because the author teaches at the same University as George Saunders. They also have an elite lacrosse program—male and female.