How often have we heard the expression that it was " just my luck that I did not win..." or bemoan the fact that some friends seem to have all the " luck in the world". Of course lucky events exert a dramatic influence over our lives for luck has the power to transform the improbable into the possible, to make the difference between life and death, reward and ruin, happiness and despair.
People have searched for an effective way of improving the good fortune in their lives for many centuries. Lucky charms, amulets, and talismans have been found in virtually all civilizations throughout recorded history. Touching (“knocking on”) wood dates back to pagan rituals that were designed to elicit the help of benign and powerful tree gods. The number thirteen is seen as unlucky because there were thirteen people at Christ's last supper. When a ladder is propped up against a wall it forms a natural triangle which used to be seen as symbolic of the Holy Trinity. To walk under the
ladder would break the Trinity and therefore bring ill fortune. Many of these beliefs and behaviors are still with us.
In 1996, the Gallup Organization asked 1,000 Americans whether they were superstitious. Fifty three percent of people said that they were at least a little superstitious, and 25 percent admitted to being
somewhat or very superstitious. Superstitious beliefs and behaviors have been passed down from generation to generation. Our parents told us about them and we will pass them on to our children. But why do they persist?
I believe that the answer lies in the power of luck. Throughout history, people have recognized that good and bad luck can transform lives. A few seconds of ill fortune can lay waste years of striving, and moments of good luck can save an enormous amount of hard work. Superstition represents people’s attempts to control and enhance this most elusive of factors. And the enduring nature of these superstitions beliefs and behaviors reflects the extent of people’s desire to find ways of increasing their good luck. In short, superstitions were created, and have survived, because they promise that most elusive of holy grails – a way of enhancing good fortune.
Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, decided to carry out a ten year experiment to test his theories about luck.What were his findings?
His research revealed that lucky people generate their own good fortune via four basic principles. (1) They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, (2) they make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, (3) they create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and (4) finally they adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good. Wiseman’s core finding was that you can create your own luck. “I discovered that being in the right place at the right time is actually all about being in the right state of mind. Lucky people increase their odds of chance encounters or experiences by interacting with a large number of people. Extraversion, Wiseman found, pays opportunity and insight rewards.
The moral of the story: if you want to be lucky, be open to more opportunities, interact with a large network of people, break routines and keep a relaxed attitude toward life.
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