Why I’m Lucky and You Are Too
Mary at Goodlife Zen has a great post up at the moment: 7 Strategies for Good Luck. In it, she talks about the recent findings of an English University Professor, who did a study find out why some people are lucky, while others are not.
Richard Wiseman even ran a project called Luck School to see if participants could learn to be luckier, and what he found was that they could. His results show that people are not born lucky, some just know how to bring luck to them.
The article and the following commentary got me thinking: What is luck anyway? Whether I call myself lucky or not really comes down to perception; how I choose to see myself and others. And these views are not universal.
Some people might look at celebrities and think everyone would agree they’re lucky, but we don’t know what goes on in these people’s private lives. Just look at the recent trials of Britney Spears, and there’s a strong case that luck in one area may be a double edged sword in others.
Let me illustrate the importance of perception with three examples. Who do you think is the luckiest?
- a man whose wife of 10 years has left him and taken their children, but the day after the divorce he wins $20,000
- a 40 year old female lawyer, who earns $150,00 a year, would love a family, but can’t find Mr Right
- a woman who has a loving family and is financially stable, but is overweight with diabetes and a heart condition
- a happily married man with 4 children, an average job, good friends, but who always struggles to pay the bills
It’s not so easy to judge, is it?
If you asked me a year ago if I was lucky, I would have said “No”. I’ve had my fair share of misfortune in my life, and I’ve never been one to win lotteries or competitions. However, in the last year I’ve had an attitude adjustment. I’ve started practising conscious gratitude, and have found that focusing on what I already have in my life makes me feel happier AND luckier. Here are just a few things I am grateful for:
- I live in a peaceful country with a very hospitable climate (Australia)
- I have been married to a wonderful man for almost 10 years
- I have had the privilege of education and a chosen career (or three)
- I have a healthy son who grows and changes before my eyes every day
- I am able bodied, healthy and still relatively young
- I have friends and family who love me
- I have a sun-filled home and garden, which acts as my sanctuary from the world
- I have loved passionately and fully, knowing both the joy of a blooming heart and the despair of a broken one
- I am able to write and correspond with all of you, which makes my heart sing
- I have traveled the world, had many adventures, and know there are lots more to come
I could go on, but I hope my point is clear. If we really look at our lives, there is much to be grateful for, so I think I’ll skip the Luck School.
Tell me, how lucky are you?
what a wonderful post! .. conscious gratitude - that’s wonderful!
there is this thought called ‘crab mentality’. If you put crabs in a basket, the crabs will pull each other down. I’ve always considered myself as the lucky crab that got out of the basket… I guess that’s my outlook, and it has so far worked for me to be lucky.
Charlotte (Charmed Life)’s last blog post..Happy Birthday To Me
Most of the time, the people who are lucky are usually the ones who work very hard, of course with the exception of Lottery Winners. Tiger Woods is lucky everytime he hits an impossible shot because he practices like a mad man. I consider myself lucky with my married life because my wife and I continue to work and grow our marriage. So, people are lucky because they put themselves in a situation to be lucky. I dare say that even the lotto winners have worked hard to consistently play day in and day out before hitting the jackpot.
Kelly, people might say that you are lucky but you have taken the risks and made the effort to be where you are now. So no one is really lucky. It’s just a matter of how bad we want something and what sacrifices we need to make in order to achieve the things that we want.
Chris Austria’s last blog post..What Teachers Make
Charlotte - I have never heard of that term “crab mentality” before, but it does make sense. I knew you were lucky the first time I ever saw your blog - “Charmed Life” says it all, doesn’t it?
Chris - I agree with you that we make our own luck, but I guess what I’m saying is we make our own luck by how we choose to see ourselves, not by what we do. Anyone who can read this article has things to be lucky for, it’s just whether they choose to see it or not. And the more we see how lucky we are the luckier we feel and the more we bring life experiences to us which enhance that lucky feeling
Thanks for the comments.
Kelly
This post really makes sense to me because if I get over myself and think about it, of course I’m lucky. I haven’t travelled much of the world but I think we are very lucky to call Australia home. No war, democracy, little poverty, beautiful landscape, great weather. I’m also young, healthy, have a great family, some good friends, a sweet boyfriend and a job. It’s not a great job but it buys me clothes, shoes and handbags. And I also live in a granny flat under my parent’s house so I have privacy but no rent. Can’t really ask for better than that.
By the way, I think the career woman is luckiest. I’d love to earn that kind of money and be really successful. I’m not really interested in having kids either so the no family part sounds fine with me.
Really like how you make me think.
Rachel
No rent or mortgage?! In the current Australian housing crisis that makes you one of the luckiest people in the country, Rachel. Glad I can make you think.
Cheers
Kelly
Great post and so true. The people who consider themselves unlucky are those who only focus on the negatives within their lives and are constantly comparing themselves to others. Like you said if we all stop and appreciate the good things we would find we were luckier than a lot of others and quite possibly the type of person others envy or consider luckier than them.
Cat’s last blog post..Habits
Thanks Cat. There’s always someone above and below us, is what I was always told. No use comparing.
Thanks for stopping by.
Kelly
Hi Kelly - this is a great post. It’s easy sometimes, when we’re trying to improve our lives, to forget about all the great things we already have.
I have two wonderful children.
I have a lovely husband - I got married for the second time 17 months ago.
I live in the country in a peaceful part of the UK.
I have great parents who are still alive.
I have no mortgage.
I’ve had the opportunity to travel to some wonderful places.
I have my own business and I am free to work from home.
I am alive.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..Business Success Is Only A Deathbed Away
Hey Kelly
Have to say, that everyday when I wake up I think about what I’m grateful for. And then I focus on what I want, and I’m lucky enough to realise what that is, and to have the resources and the ‘guts’ to work towards creating it. No to mention living in a country - beautiful Aotearoa - that allows me to manifest my ambitions. Oh the corny-ness of it all! But, I’m all for it regardless. Gratitude is such an easy oversight with our madly busy lives.
I believe luck is a combination of what we make of our lives but also how we view our situation and percieve our lessons. Sometimes hindsight crystalizes that.
You deserve all the luck you are creating for yourself.
Really enjoying reading your inspiring blogging and loved the article on FRIENDSHIPS, mmm hmmm. Resonates with me!