Fortune favours the brave, the old adage goes but after last year you could be forgiven if the capacity to be brave – or lucky – seems in short supply.
The feeling that luck is on our side cultivates optimism. Surprisingly, science says much as we can choose to be optimistic we can also choose to harness luck.
In relation to optimism, we know that the simple daily practice of asking ‘what went well?’ with our children or partner over the evening meal focuses us on the good things that happened, short-circuiting our natural negativity bias. It enhances connection and wellbeing.
Likewise, we can choose to be luckier when we start to look at things through the lens of, ‘could this be lucky?’
Have you ever missed out on what you thought was your perfect job only to have a better opportunity present itself? Suffered the pain of rejection only to meet a far greater love? I know that personally lots of things have happened in my life that on first glance seemed bad but in the long run proved fortunate.
To encourage luck we first have to be present – it is only by noticing our thoughts and having presence of mind that we can short circuit habitual, negative thought patterns. We also need to pay attention to our intuition and our moral compass.
Don’t believe it? Try it! Make a commitment today to be one of the lucky ones. Luck is not finite and there’s plenty to go around. Put it on a sticky note somewhere you can see it. ‘I commit to being luckier every day’. Then play the long game.
Life works in mysterious ways, so does luck.
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