APAD: Accident of Birth

Meaning: the consequence of the circumstances into which a person is born.

For example, a prince will probably have a different life to a pauper or an

Inuit to a Kalahari bushman. The term may also be applied to some innate talent

that a person has by virtue of the DNA they inherited from their parents. For

example, "LeBron James's success at basketball was, in part, due to the accident

of birth of growing to 6 feet, 8 inches tall".

    - Gary Martin, https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/accident-of-birth.html

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The inner debate of nature-vs-nurture in rationalizing my own successes and

failures was a perennial waste of time. It invaribly led to hubris, self-pity,

or paralyzing fear. For me, it's better to focus on one thing at a time without

obsessing about the big picture, the past, the future, or even current

circumstances. As Zen teaches: "When cutting the onion, just cut the onion."