In March I think of the lucky four-leaf clover. It is too cold outside in Green Bay, WI to find one, but I discovered other ways in which we can increase our luck.
I found Dr. Wiseman. Professor Richard Wiseman has been described by a Scientific American columnist as ‘…one of the most interesting and innovative experimental psychologists in the world today’. He wrote a book about The Luck Factor. He and his colleagues at the university’s Perrott-Warrick Research Unit studied what makes some people lucky and others not. After conducting thousands of interviews and hundreds of experiments, Wiseman seems to discover ways to create luck. Luck isn’t due to karma, or coincidence, he says. Instead, lucky folks — without even knowing it — think and behave in ways that create good fortune in their lives.
He reveals four approaches to life that we can work on to improve our luck in our life and work.
MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITIES
Just try stuff. Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing, and acting upon chance opportunities. Keep your eyes and mind open. Be open to new experience. Meet new people, build and maintain a strong network. Adopt a relaxed attitude to life. They don’t suffer from paralysis by analysis. If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you always gotten.
LISTEN TO YOUR INTUITION
Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. Intuition is based on facts, hunches, body language and elements that escape logic. Sometimes we need to turn off the world and clear our mind to hear what our intuition tells us. I find this even more important as we are blasted with 24 hours of news. Journaling helps to remove the clutter in your mind. Trust yourself.
EXPECT THE BEST
Lucky people are certain that the future will be bright. Over time, that expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because lucky people persist in the face of failure. They positively shape their interactions with other people. Irrational overconfidence has been known to increase productivity, improve teamwork, reduce stress, and increase pain tolerance. Letting go of the what if’s frees the mind to take action into a positive direction.
TURN BAD LUCK INTO GOOD
Bad things happen to everyone. Lucky people employ various techniques to cope with, and even thrive upon, the ill fortune that comes their way. They imagine how things could have been worse, they don’t dwell on the ill fortune, and they take control of what they can. Look for the silver lining. Keep your focus on the big picture. Recall the timeless sayings – time heals all and this too will pass.
