Anything that can go wrong will go wrong…  

Before I tell you why I chose this topic, I’d like to interest you with how this adage came to fruition.

THE HISTORY

Edward J Murphy a former US Air Force Major in the 1940’s, was an engineer by profession.

What Engineers do and does it commission such negativity?

As an Engineer, one is expected to develop, test and fix things. In the process many a time’s, petty and severe hardships are faced. The petty ones, however insignificant had a pattern to it (According to him). Till this day, it is not clear on how the term Murphy’s Law was coined; but the story is penned down to this incident.

The man and his team were involved in a ground breaking experiment, requiring them as engineers, to support with the hardware and sensors the experiment demanded. In the course of execution, the experiment ended up failing!

Upon tracing the root it was found that, a simple flip in the way the sensors were wired caused the entire experiment to fail. If one looks at the bigger picture, the sensors being wired wrong should have ideally been the last reason for such a big scaled experiment to fail. But, it did happen; frustrated by his team, Murphy might have mocked the person responsible for wiring the sensors and stated “If that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will” and thus stemmed Murphy’s LAW.

Why I chose to write about it?

Since then, Murphy’s Law was extrapolated and used in different contexts of life. This post might be a slight bit philosophical so take it at what you will 🙂  

Of course, being an engineer I can definitely relate to a lot of these laws; but the reason I chose to write about this is not because I’m an Engineer…

I intend on highlighting a few laws and sharing my personal experiences in favor of how true it is.

LEFT TO THEMSELVES, THINGS TEND TO GO FROM BAD TO WORSE

There are instances in my life where I left things unattended, when I shouldn’t have. Things that really mattered to me, but I chose to ignore it simply because it seemed like too much work and something too demanding at the time.

The reason I let it be was because it was bad not because I despised it or didn’t have the heart to work on it; but simply because situations were unfavorable for me to work on it ( can you relate? , let me know in the comments). I was unable to do much about it and believe it or not; from bad it went to worse and finally beyond repair.

Well you might say, you don’t need a law to know this; TRUE, but there is one to tell you that, this is common and people go through this all the time; with or without them realizing it.

Take away? You need to be more aware from this point forward. If something matters to you, work on it today! Every day after, it sails towards port “worst”.  I realized it the hardest way possible, and this universal law has somehow helped me through it.

I purposely left out what that “something” to me is and generalized it in the sole intent for you to be able to resonate with your own situations better.

The “something” can be a relationship, a sick person you’ve left unattended, a business, an engineering design that’s hanging by a thread 😉 ; anything. I’m just here to tell you, it’s true.

The point of this law is not to kindle pessimism or always expect the worst outcomes out of every situation; rather a law that prepares you for the worst and if it does come to it, then

SMILE…. TOMORROW WILL BE WORSE 🙂

This brings us to another one of the laws. Simply, learn to Smile. If something goes wrong today, take it with a pinch of salt. Tomorrow might be worse, might as well make the best of today, right?

Learning to see the silver lining is the most arduous act in an adult’s life and I’d say, at a time of despair it’s always nice to know that there are writings that motivate you to look at the bright side, because…

MOTHER NATURE IS A B***H

First of all, no disrespect, this is written in strictly a metaphorical context. Yes, life can be a b***h.

 You can do everything right and still have you rewards and results being dropped like a hot potato. What can you do?  Nothing, just see the silver lining and try learning from the situation. You live to fight another day, RELAX!

ANY TOOL DROPPED WHILE REPAIRING, ROLLS RIGHT UNDERNEATH TO THE EXACT CENTRE

Come on, this would have definitely happened to you!! Think about it…

I still vividly remember My Dad and I were trying to fix a drawer (if my memory serves me right) and I was holding on to a driver.

Just to set context, I was in no mood to help out, I was frustrated to do it in the first place. To add to my frustration, the driver rolled down to the bottom, right in the centre underneath on more than one occasions.

Could you imagine? Well today, if I were to land in a similar situation; I think to myself “Murphy’s law” and just calmly pick it up; In fact; the minute it drops I assume it would roll right underneath.

There are a lot more like these, for the sake and in respect of your time; I’ll stop here!

But, you get the gist?

My 2 cents to you lovely people

1. Have a copy of the laws stuck somewhere or at the least make an attempt to read it when things aren’t in your favor. THEY REALLY HELP!
2. It may not apply in every context and may even seem otherwise, but scope out. In a bird’s eye view, they’d make sense.
3. Learn to see the silver lining. It just makes you a more resilient and optimistic individual overall.
4. SMILE TOMORROW MIGHT BE WORSE 🙂

Don’t take MURPHY’S LAW as a joke. Many Engineering, Design and Management principles adhere to the LAWS and use it as risk mitigation and management tool. It helps in better planning and setting more realistic deadlines; considering all the mishaps and accounting for unforeseen blockers to the best possible extent.

As always, Thanks for reading. Please let me know in the comments on what you think about the Murphy’s law and if you’d join me as a believer.

Cheers!

NOTE: THE IMAGES USED IN THIS POST ARE NOT MINE; THE SOLE CREDIT GOES TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

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