The world is not always fair, and perhaps it has never been.
We grow up believing that effort should always lead to reward, that the person who prepares the most, works the hardest, and hopes the deepest will eventually receive what they deserve. But life has a way of reminding us that things do not always unfold that neatly.
Sometimes we see people receive opportunities we believe others deserved more. Sometimes we watch doors close in front of those who were ready to walk through them. And in those moments it is easy to wonder whether fairness truly exists in the way we imagine it should.
But over the years I have come to believe something different.
I have come to believe that when something is truly meant for you, you do not have to destroy yourself chasing it. When the moment that belongs to you arrives, things often fall into place in ways you could never have planned.
I learned this lesson through a story about my father.
Many years ago he went for an important job interview. It was the kind of opportunity that carried hope with it. For him, it meant stability, dignity, and the possibility of a better future for his family.
He prepared carefully. Like anyone who wanted something deeply, he walked into that interview carrying expectations.
But something unexpected happened.
When the interview began, he simply could not speak. The words that should have come easily seemed to disappear. His thoughts were there, but his voice would not follow them. Some people later joked about fear, others mentioned juju the way people sometimes do when things feel strange and unexplained.
Whatever the reason, the interview did not go well.
It was one of those moments in life when everything seems to collapse quietly. You leave the room knowing that the chance you hoped for has already slipped away.
But life does not always end the story where we think it does.
Not long after that experience, someone who knew my father recommended him for the same kind of position at another place. This time there was no stiff interview room, no panel of people studying every word he said.
Instead, it began as a conversation.
They talked naturally. They asked questions, but not in a way that felt like a test. It was simply two people interacting, learning about each other.
And that was how he got the job.
The opportunity that seemed lost had simply found its way to him through a different door.
Looking back now, the lesson feels clear.
Sometimes the door that closes is not a rejection of who you are. Sometimes it is simply life guiding you away from the wrong place and toward the one that was always meant for you.
We often stress ourselves trying to force outcomes that are not yet ours. We compare ourselves with others and wonder why their path seems easier, why their moment arrives sooner.
But time has its own quiet order.
When your time comes, things often happen in ways that feel almost effortless. The right people appear. The right doors open. The right conversations happen.
Not because life is perfectly fair.
But because some things arrive only when they are ready to belong to you.
And when that moment finally comes, you will not have to fight the world to receive it.
It will simply unfold.
