What is luck? Is there’s a scientific side to luck?

We all walk a different path in life. On this path we are all ‘’victims’’ of surprises, and unexpected events. Some events can be quite pleasant, and enjoyable. They are the moments when we are offered a new carrier opportunity , or an opportunity to work something that we are passionate about. But , unfortunately not all happenings in life are happy, and shiny. There are also stressful, and chaotic times in our life . Times, when our entrepreneurship spirit, as a businessman, had disappeared , or our business had lacked the right ‘’ingredient’’ to succeed. In those unsettling, and unfortunate times we often have this habit of thinking that maybe we are not one of those people , who were born under a ‘’lucky star’’. We create this illusion in our mind that luck is simply not our ‘’friend’’, and we are not destined to be lucky. However , there are conducted studies where researchers have proven that luck is actually hidden in our own attitude. A positive attitude, that keeps us open, and ready for ‘’grabbing’’ new opportunities, and new chances. Therefore, according to them , luck is ‘’born’’ within our mind. Not in a random probability.

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But, Richard Wiseman , a professor of psychology explains that luck isn’t ‘’something’’ that could happen to everyone , even though they consider themselves to be a lucky person. He indicates that luck is a concept that can be measured. To confirm this, Wiseman has conducted two studies. In the first study he observed people , who acknowledge themselves as being lucky , and people , who ‘’diagnosed’’ themselves as being unlucky. He asked them to read a newspaper. In the newspaper he wrote : “Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win £250.” In the second study, he has also surveyed people who identify themselves as being lucky, and people who categorize themselves as being unlucky. They were also given a newspaper, but they were also asked to look through the newspaper , and count how many photographs were inside it. The result of both studies concluded that the people who characterized themselves as being unlucky didn’t see the add in the newspaper , and only succeeded to count the photographs in 2 minutes. Quite the opposite from them, the ‘lucky’ ones were very lucky. They were more likely to see the add , and they were also able to see the message :"Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper’’. This message was written on the second page of the newspaper, but the ‘unlucky’ ones didn’t see it, or read it. Their main focus was on counting the photographs, and nothing else.

Furthermore, from the results of the studies, unlucky people were described to be more anxious, and nervous. It was revealed that they tend to be less social , and less open for new opportunities. They are more likely to miss many life opportunities. They could miss the ‘’golden’’ chance of finding a good job, just because they are only focused on finding a specific type of job. Or , they could fail in finding new friendships , just because their only priority is to find a love partner. On the other hand, the lucky people were described to be slightly more differing, and opposite from them. They were defined to be more extroverted , and more relaxed people. The people , who are not focused on only one thing , but the people who are willing to experience , and learn new things. People, who are listening to their intuition, and inner gut. People , who are able to create their own ‘’door’’ of life opportunities. And , people, who are not afraid to ‘’open’’ and grasp those opportunities. ‘’My findings have revealed that although unlucky people have almost no insight into the real causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behavior are responsible for much of their fortune’’ , additionally explained Wiseman in an article for The Telegraph. He has studied luck for more than 15 years. For more than 15 years he had conducted a thousands of interviews , and a hundreds of experiments. But , as they say ‘’Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations’’ , and this road of conducting studies and experiments finally led Wiseman to his beautiful destination called ‘’The Luck Factor’’ . ‘’The Luck Factor’’ is his book , where he shares four principles for being a lucky person. They are :

Principle one : Maximize Chance Opportunities

Lucky people are curious people. They are ‘’dying’’ to learn new things. They are eager to ‘’taste’’ new experiences. They know deep down that experiencing a new thing in life can lead them in experiencing an amazing opportunity. So they are also one of the brave ones. Unlike the unlucky ones , they have an extroverted personality. It means that they tend to be more communicative, and more willing to build new relationships with people. A risk takers , or a chance seekers. Whatever they are called , they still have the luck on their side.

Principle two : Listen To Your Own Intuition

Lucky people are guided by their lucky hunch. They closely listen to the words of their intuition. Their intuition, or their inner voice has the ‘’last word’’ in making different decisions. And, trusting their own gut helps them in bringing effective decisions. It could be a carrier choice decision, or a love partner decision. Nevertheless , contrary of the unlucky people , lucky people also take more time to ‘’boost up ’’ , or nurture their intuition. By meditating , or just clearing their minds they develop a healthy approach in dealing with different difficulties , and problems. And, by developing a healthy and lucky mind , we are becoming a healthy and lucky person.

Principle three : Expect Good Fortune

To be a lucky person is to be an optimistic person. An optimistic person is a positive person. And , this person believes that good things are going to happen in his/her future. The lucky person believes , and expects. Their faith is their biggest strength. It gives them courage, and hope to persevere in difficult times. It challenges them to move forward , especially when they are faced with a failure , or they feel disappointed. Believing is ‘’the thing’’ that encourages lucky people to pursue , and achieve their goals, even when their chances of accomplishing them seem small. So , when we strongly believe that we are lucky people , we motivate ourselves to actually become lucky people.

Principle four : See The Good in The Bad

Seeing a positive side in a bad situation is like having an inside power. This power , or ability enables lucky people to see something , that not everyone else is able to. It is the ability to see through ‘rose colored’ glasses, while imagining the worst possible scenario that could have happened. And, this is where their luck is ‘’buried’’. It is ‘’buried’’ in their own imagination. They know that they were really lucky of the way things turned out, because they also know that they could have ended much worse. But they don’t dwell on their misfortunes. Instead they act very constructively, and take further steps to prevent those bad luck situations. Also, the lucky people are sure that any bad luck in their lives will eventually create something good , and positive in their future.

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Concluding Thoughts:

Luck is a feeling that ‘’lives’’ in all of us. We can feel it deep down in our heart. We can also ‘’listen’’ to it whispering in our consciousness. It is a small, but a very significant piece of us. For some people , it is a piece , that is often triggered, or activated with success . But , for some it is a piece , that needs a little ‘’dose’’ of faith in order to live, and function properly. So , this piece of luck can be only ‘’activated’’ if we only have real faith in ourselves. This includes having faith in our unique abilities, unique skills and also unique talents. Having faith is indeed a very powerful gift. It gives us courage. Courage to take risks, and courage to explore the unknown. And, by taking risks , or just exploring the unknown, we are also taking , and exploring our chances to be lucky.

References:

• Alexandra Ossola , (2015), ‘’The Science of Luck’’ , https://www.popsci.com/luck-real

• Adam Dachis , (2011) , ‘’What Lucky People Do Differently than Unlucky People’’ , https://lifehacker.com/5791032/improve-your-luck-by-relaxing-keeping-an-open-mind-and-paying-attention-to-the-world-around-you

• Rob Waugh , (2017), ‘’Here’s how ‘lucky’ people are different from unlucky people, according to science’’ , http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/25/heres-how-lucky-people-are-different-from-unlucky-people-according-to-science-6953870/

• ‘’Human Unlimited’’ , (2016), ‘’4 Principles for Creating Luck’’ , https://www.humanunlimited.com/blogs/blog/104463110-4-principles-for-creating-luck

• Neil Levy , (2012), ‘’Explainer : Does Luck Exist ?’’ , https://theconversation.com/explainer-does-luck-exist-5139

• Robert Frank , (2017), ‘’Success , and Luck’’ , https://inequality.org/research/success-and-luck/