Why are we so obsessed with trying to make things fair when life is not fair?

Chasing fairness in an unfair world is stupidity.

Life doesn't distribute talent, opportunity, or circumstance equally. It never has, and never will. Yet we've built entire systems - political, social, institutional, around the pursuit of fairness.

Why?

Because the human mind cannot tolerate randomness. Psychologists call this the "just-world hypothesis", our deep cognitive need to believe that outcomes are deserved. That if we work hard enough, follow the right rules, and fight long enough, the universe will eventually balance the scales.

It won't.

You see, there’s this simple paradox behind this: the harder we try to flatten the playing field, the more we erase the very differences that let people win on it.

Here is an example we can all relate to:

Two kids in the same classroom, same teacher, same textbook!

- One's wired for numbers.

- One's wired for words.

Treating them the same might look like fairness, but it is not. It's neglecting what gives them an edge in their own lane.

I’ve always known life isn’t fair. I believed it too. But somehow, I have kept drifting towards “You can put in the work and balance the scales”. Weirdly enough, I was reinforced, once again, on the tennis court recently!

You don't try to be equally good at every shot. You build one weapon - a forehand, a big serve, or rushing to the net (if your coach is old school). And you make the entire point structure work around that shot.

The pros who try to have no weaknesses usually have no strengths either. They're solid everywhere and dangerous nowhere. But having a strength forces your opponent to play to your weakness, which may not be their strength!

I see the same thing with founders. A founder who's a natural at product stops trying to "fix" their weak sales skills, and instead builds a product so good it sells itself.

A founder who's a natural speaker stops obsessing over how backend tools interact with each other and turns every customer call into a deal.

The moment they stop trying to be complete, you start being dangerous in your lane.