Again such an unwieldy word, for which one does not know how to pronounce it, let alone what it means. By the way, this is how new terms are constantly being created, which have to be googled first before they can be confidently used in conversation.
The day of serendipity…
… has not been around that long. It is a day of action first proclaimed by the US writer Madeleine Kay on 18 August 2010. Her intention was to motivate people by this day to get out of the daily grind and encourage “accidental happiness”. But what does serendipity mean?
The Three Princes of Serendip
The term originates from the Persian fairy tale “The Three Princes of Serendip”. These princes, through a mixture of coincidence and reason, made discoveries they had not really been looking for. And this is exactly what serendipity is all about: discovering new, great possibilities by leaving well-trodden paths! Christopher Columbus was such an example: an adventurous sailor who discovered America by chance, although he actually wanted to go to India! By pure coincidence, by the way, penicillin and sildenafil (Viagra) were also discovered.
How long has this term been around?
For quite a long time now! It was introduced in the 1940s by the American sociologist Robert King Merton. (For those who can never get enough of facts: Merton also coined the terms of self-fulfilling prophecy, focus group or role model).
In our everyday lives, we often have to deal with this principle when we search for topics in search engines or libraries and in doing so come across other things that arouse our interest. Basically, it is about giving more room to chance by simply doing something different than usual. The possibilities are endless: you go somewhere else in the evening or visit old friends, maybe you dress completely different than usual or realize something that you have planned for the future. Maybe you discover a new favorite restaurant, or even your partner for life – who knows?
But the day of serendipity is also intended to encourage those who have difficulties giving up their daily routine.
This courage to break new ground was also the basis for the success story of LTS. Are you interested in transdermal therapeutic systems? Then click here.
image: LTS Therapie-Systeme AG
