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."