Did you ever get a feeling that some people are just born “lucky”? Or maybe someone has said that about you. What does it mean to be lucky? Does luck exist? The dictionary defines luck as, “success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own action.” How do you define it?
When I was dating my husband over 20 years ago, he was known as the guy who always got the perfect parking. Whenever we would go out, even if it was downtown, he would get the spot right in front of the restaurant or place we were going to. There was always a car pulling out of the “perfect spot” as we were approaching. It used to frustrate our friends who would have to circle the block over and over to find one. Carl, my husband, never stressed about it. He just “knew” a parking place would be available.
I don’t know when it happened but eventually he started doubting that he was going to find a good parking. Once that happened, the funny thing is that he stopped finding it. He stopped being lucky when it came to finding parking. The mere fact that his mindset shifted, changed his reality. He still gets good spots but not at the frequency he used to. Can the same thing be said about everything?
Psychologist Richard Wiseman, author of “The Luck Factor,” has extensively studied the concept of luck. In one of his studies Wiseman recruited 700 subjects some of which perceived themselves as lucky while others as unlucky.
What he revealed is that there are four principles that underlie a life of good fortune. Once you read these principles, let me know the answer to the question, “Does Luck Exist”:
The Belief that You are Lucky
Lucky people tend to create, notice and act upon chance opportunities. They tend to expect good things to happen. They also have a relaxed attitude to life. They tend not to worry about what they are not getting but what they are.
Lucky People Make Success Happen by Using Their Intuition and Gut Feelings
How often do your listen to your inner voice? Lucky people decide what they want and then design a plan to achieve it.
They Expect Good Fortune
They understand that there will be bumps along the way but hold fast in their beliefs that they will achieve their goals.
Lucky People Have a Knack for Transforming Bad Luck into Good Luck
They don’t get stuck on what went wrong but are confident that they will find a way to work around it and they have a strong conviction that everything will work out for the best.
If you are of the mindset that you are “unlucky”, take a look at your environment. Are there negative triggers in your life that condition you to believe that? How can you remove the negative triggers and inject positive ones? I tend to find that the more grateful I am for what I have, the more I tend to have. Practicing gratitude is a great way to develop a mindset that will increase your luck.
[tweetthis]“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay[/tweetthis]
Another great way to increase your luck is to help others with their goals to the best of your ability. The more you are able to help others, the more it will come back around to you. Zig Ziglar said it best, “You’ll always have everything in life that you want if you help enough people get what they want.”
There is also the whole superstition, Karma or religious factor that can come into play depending on your beliefs. I tend to believe that these factors are just an enhancement of what you believe and your mindset. They are not mutually exclusive to the factors mentioned above, but a compliment.
How do you define luck?