Someone on quora asked:
There is a quote Iâm fond of from Star Trek: The Next Generation, when Data (an android) loses at a game despite having what he thought was a flawless strategy. Picard tells him âIt is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.â Fundamentally, life isnât fair. Just because you put in all the work doesnât mean you are guaranteed to get what you want. It may improve your chances, but chances are just that - chances. Sometimes other people simply work harder than you. Or maybe they have more advantages. Or maybe you got unlucky and the judges were having a bad day. There are a million other factors that could have affected the outcome other than how hard you worked. But donât be discouraged! Hard work is still important, much more so than talent. Because hard work and practice and muscle memory will push you past unfamiliar situations that talent cannot. And hard work overall contributes to improving your chances. Want to improve your chances even more? Thereâs two things: