Why You Should Not Trust The New Year Success To Luck

Oftentimes we read stories of some successful people being in the right place at the right time when a spectacular deal was struck, and we say such people are lucky. If you have a bit of review of your past years, how do you think you fared? There is not much in reviewing our past results, but because successes and failures do leave some sort of trail. And these trails can be a guide to our future.

So what do you think about your success, a bit of luck, you might think? Some up till today still believe that luck determines their fate. But let us have a look at what the ten years of scientific study by Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire, UK, say about luck.

The Impact Of Chance Encounters On Personal Lives

There is no doubt that being in the right place at the right time (what some people call luck) has its own merit and can be a major significant difference in our lives. 

Standford University Psychologist, Alfred Bandura described, how on one day as a student, he was bored with study and decided to go to a golf link with a friend. They met two ladies at the link, and one ended up now as his wife. As he is incredibly happy in his marriage, he often wondered what would have happened if he decided not to go to the golf link that day. He concluded that:

"some of the most important determinants of life paths often arise through the most trivial of circumstances." Alfred Bandura

Beliefs And Superstition In History

Over the years in history, people have used all sorts of means to improve their luck. The most common is the horseshoe carried by brides during wedding ceremonies. Then we have ammunitions, amulets, talisman, charms. The number thirteen is supposed to be unlucky while walking under the ladder, breaking a mirror or knocking on wood are all considered evil. These beliefs are still with us today.

An opinion poll of 1000 US citizens confirmed that at least 25% of them were very superstitious, while 50% said they were a little superstitious. 72% confirmed having one sort of lucky charms in the house, although they pay little attention to it. All these behaviours are an attempt to alter the course of the so-called luck over our lives.

Alfred Bandas said these superstitions exist when people believe that luck is a kind of strange force that could be controlled by magical means.

The Result Of The Scientific Study

The study conducted with about 400 people from all walks of life. Those who considered themselves lucky, as well as those who do not. There were personal diaries, projects and questionnaires to complete. The result?

The findings have revealed that luck is not a magical ability or the result of random chance.

Other conclusions are:

• People are neither born lucky or unlucky

• Although some people might not have insight into their problem, their behaviour and belief system has a lot to do with how lucky or unlucky they become. 

• Luck is usually enhanced by developing your skill, creating chance opportunities, and listening to your intuition, and be bold in taking a risk, by remembering that nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without taking some risk.

• Lucky people have a positive expectation (attitude) and are highly resilient, even in the face of opposition or difficulties.

• Those who termed themselves to be unlucky failed ''the personality tests'' because they are usually tensed and anxious, and that robs them of hitting any chance opportunity. They have something else in their mind.

• While they are anxious about meeting a reliable life partner, the unlucky people underrate making friends along the way, forgetting that a life partner can emerge from any of the friends.

• Lucky people are not rigid and often change their routine deliberately to increase their chance opportunities.

Dealing With Supposedly Bad Luck

• Those who considered themselves lucky are optimistic about life events and are willing to still maintain a positive outlook about issues that some will consider unlucky.

• You have to consider yourself first, and your happiness and integrity. This might mean deviating from the norm, but as long as it suits you, that is fine.

• You have to know everything is in your control, only you need to look deep to know what to do about it. Again listen to your intuition.

• Remember that you give energy to what prevails in your mind, so this is bound to happen. If you believe that you have bad luck, good luck will evade you.

• Choose who your friends are. If you hang out with those who consider themselves unlucky in life, with low self-esteem, it will soon rub on you. 

• Consider that failure is a part of success, and an opportunity to do better next time. Most successes do not happen the first time.

The Takeaways

There is no such thing as luck. If you want to be lucky, you have to work towards it. You have to be able to listen to your intuition and be able to act at every opportunity.

Change your behaviour to that of a positive outlook, and look to succeed. Improve your skill, if need be.

"I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." Thomas Jefferson.

So your luck is in your belief system, what you perceive it to be. The question is are you trusting your subsequent years to luck or are you working towards what you want to achieve?

Have a goal in sight, work towards it. Your health matters too, eat healthily and maintain a healthy lifestyle for optimum health. The ball is in your court. Do not believe you cannot control what happens to you.

"Optimists endure the same storms in life as pessimists. But they weather them better and emerge from them better off." Martin Seligman

Let this new year be the one that is lucky for you, simply by working towards it.