Boost your luck by 945.93 %, in four simple steps, even if you think you're unlucky.

This is based on a book called "The Luck Factor" by professor of psychology Dr. Richard Wiseman. So, I hope you forgive me for the click-baity title. I enjoy them from time to time.
Richard J. Wiseman is a Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. He has written several best-selling popular psychology books that have been translated into over 30 languages.

In this post I focus on the aforementioned book, which is the result of scientific exploration of the psychological differences between people who considered themselves exceptionally lucky and unlucky. In his research, Dr Wiseman worked with hundreds of exceptionally lucky and unlucky people, and has employed various methods - including psychometric questionnaires, laboratory experiments and extensive interviewing - to better understand the psychology of luck and he discovered that there are actually four basic principles used by lucky people to create good fortune in their lives, and developed techniques that enable individuals to enhance their own good luck.

The Luck Experiment

Richard Wiseman observed that many successful people considered their success as a result of "luck", while those who struggle think themselves as "unlucky". So, he conducted a small experiment to better understand the mindset of each category and the result was fascinating. He set up interviews with people that deemed themselves "lucky" and "unlucky". He made them go through a newspaper that wrote in a page with big letters "if you see this, tell us and you will win 150 UK pounds".

The majority of the people that thought themselves as "lucky" told the researchers and the majority of "unlucky" people didn't notice it at all [2]. The money or the opportunity in both cases was there for everyone to grasp, but some people missed because they didn't see it. Figuratively and literally. People are not born lucky. Instead, lucky people are, without realizing it, are using 4 basic principles, that I am going to describe, in order to create good fortune in their lives.

I strongly believe that good luck and bad luck generally comes at a 50/50 ratio. Just like the flip of a coin. If you flip it enough times it's half-half. But you can do something to change the odds to your advantage. As the author says : "Lucky people generate their own good fortune, they are skilled at creating their own chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good".

Moreover one can choose to focus on the positive rather than the negative. This way not only you create your own good luck, but you also feel good about it. This way you can boost your "luck" to whatever percentage you want.

Now let's see those four principles

Maximize your Chances

Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this by building and maintaining a strong "network of luck", which means they don't let people go. They maintain relationships with most of the people they meet and of course are willing to hand out opportunities to others. Good gestures always return, sometimes in multiples.
They adopt a relaxed attitude to life and are open to new experiences in their life. It's the "you never know" mindset. If you have the same behavior, you will have the same results. If you try new things and experiment, sometime you may hit a jackpot. And then you're lucky. But are you really lucky? You just created your own fortune.

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Listen to your Gut

Intuition is something that everyone has, but "lucky" people tend to rely on it more. They not only trust their intuition, but they work to boost it. They are mindful, present at the moment and take notice of things that other people pass by lost in their thoughts. Intuition is many times the result of subtle clues, or weak signals that you unconsciously observe and integrate. It's having your eyes and ears open. And sometimes you may pick up something valuable. And then you're lucky. But are you really lucky? You just saw ( or heard ) an opportunity.

Expect to be Lucky

Lucky people are certain that the future is going to be full of good fortune and this will never stop. They create better relationships by awaiting good results from those that they interact with. These expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies by helping lucky people to persist in the face of failure. They push through to achieve their goals, even if their chances of success may seem slim and persevere in the face of failure. They understand that determination, persistence and patience are key to achieving goals and they never give up. No wonder why they achieve their goals in the end.

If you keep on telling you're self that something will happen and you will fail, then you don't bother trying. Or you do half-ass job and quit at the first hurdle. Yes, life is no walk in the park in a sunny Sunday. Bad things will happen. But also good things will happen. And if you keep walking you may find your gold at the edge of the rainbow. And then you're lucky. But are you really lucky? You just kept hustling.

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Turn Lemons to Lemonade

Bad things happen to all of us. But, "lucky" people react by expecting and working towards a positive outcome. They know how to cope with, and often even thrive upon when the ill fortune comes their way. They imagine how things could have been worse and this way they see the positive side of their bad luck and are convinced that in the long run things will work out for the best.
They don't dwell on bad luck. What happened, happened there is no need to whine. There is no failure, only feedback and most importantly, "lucky" people take control of the situation and take action to turn bad luck to good and to prevent more bad luck in the future. And so it happens that life hands you some lemons. You can make a delicious lemon pie and sell it and you may even become a famous chef. And then you're lucky. But are you really lucky? You just took matters on your own hands and created your "good luck" no matter what.

Do you feel destiny slaps you in the face more often than not?

I think you can change perspective.

I think you know what to do.

And the more we do, the more chances we create …

And as we create more chances, we will be more "lucky".

But, are we really lucky?

Yes , we are lucky by design !!!

And until we all create our good luck…
Be Healthy, Smile and Steem.

Recources
[1] Wiseman, R. (2003). The Luck Factor. London, UK: Random House
[2] https://www.fastcompany.com/46732/how-make-your-own-luck
[3] Dr Richard Wiseman Web Page
[4] Dr Richard Wiseman Wkikipedia Page
[5] http://www.richardwiseman.com/Luck.shtml
[6] http://richardwiseman.com/resources/The_Luck_Factor.pdf
[7] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-luck-would-have-it/