The First Time It Repeats, We Call It Coincidence.
The same problems don’t always look the same — that’s why we miss what keeps repeating.
There was a phase in my life when everything looked like it was moving forward.
Work was growing. Money was coming in. On the surface, it felt like things were working.
If someone had looked from the outside, they would have said — everything is fine.
But something didn’t hold.
There was no big event. No crash. Nothing dramatic.
Just small things.
Money would come… and then go.
Decisions would feel right… but lead nowhere.
Effort was there… but nothing really stayed long enough to build on.
At that time, it didn’t feel like a problem.
That’s how it usually starts.
You explain it to yourself.
This time is different.
That was just bad luck.
This won’t happen again.
And honestly, those explanations feel right.
Because every situation looks different.
Different people.
Different opportunities.
Different reasons.
On the surface, everything keeps changing.
So you don’t stop to look deeper.
The next time it happened, it didn’t look the same.
Different situation.
Different decision.
But the result felt… familiar.
Not enough to worry.
Just enough to ignore.
And that’s where it becomes hard to notice.
Repetition doesn’t arrive as repetition. It arrives as variation.
The mind treats it like something new.
Something to deal with.
Not something to recognize.
So life keeps moving.
New plans.
New efforts.
New expectations.
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Everything feels like it’s progressing.
Until one day, something feels a little off.
Not clear.
Just a small thought:
Why does this feel familiar?
Most of us don’t stay with that question.
Because it’s uncomfortable.
It’s easier to change what we can see.
Change the plan.
Change the people.
Try something new.
And for some time, it works.
Then it happens again.
At some point, the question changes.
Not: Why did this happen?
But: Why does this keep happening?
That’s when things start to shift.
You stop looking at just the situation.
You start noticing what is common between them.
What looks different on the surface…
starts to feel similar underneath.
You slowly see that it’s not the situation repeating.
It’s something else.
A way of deciding.
A way of reacting.
A way of seeing things.
Structure is not visible on the surface.
And once you see even a little of it, coincidence starts losing its meaning.
Not completely.
But enough.
Life doesn’t suddenly become clear.
But it starts to feel… familiar in a different way.
Because the first time it repeats, we call it coincidence.
But it rarely stops there.
— Pushpender Kaushik
Exploring patterns in business, behaviour, and life
🌐 lifeisnotrandom.com