Hapless

[randy_byers]

So I was thinking the other day that I'm hapless when it comes to certain things, and then I got to thinking about what "hapless" means. OED says it's a lack of "hap" or good luck. But for me "hapless" has a connotation of "helpless" as well. To be hapless is to be incapable. So there's an undercurrent of meaning here: "The only way I can be successful is if I'm lucky, and I'm not lucky." In other words, I can't make this happen, so I need hap. It's a passive trait. "Get happy" is a contradiction in terms.