St. Patrick’s Day was earlier this week. That got me thinking: Most of us have heard the phrase “luck of the Irish,” or heard about lucky Shamrocks or four-leaved clovers, and that wearing of green link to the holiday and good luck. But is there really such a thing as good luck? It may seem at first glance that a coworker or friend is very lucky; afterall he received the promotion you deserved.. Do they have better luck than you or is it something else that propels their success? Is there really such a thing as luck or do we make our own luck? The Roman philosopher Seneca is quoted as saying, “Luck Is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” and this seems more reasonable than equating luck with chance or serendipity. People who appear to “have all the luck,” tend to do five things that we will discuss here.
They Have Goals
People who are deemed lucky know what they want to accomplish whether it is to run a marathon, purchase a home, or be promoted at work and have a plan as to how they will accomplish these goals They are not discouraged by obstacles along the way that may slow their progress toward goal attainment. They see failures as temporary setbacks from which they can learn and perhaps change course. People who see themselves as less lucky may see obstacles as reasons to quit, may blame others or circumstances for their failures, and do not celebrate successes along the way to keep them motivated toward goals.
They Take Risks
We all have our comfort zones and some people convince themselves that they have everything they need within the zone and do not need to stray from there. This stops them from taking risks and moving beyond our fears of failure. People deemed as lucky are willing to take risks and try something new, which may or may not work. If it does not work, they evaluate what went wrong and determine if that occurrence was in or out of their control and what could be done differently.
They Connect with Others
Lucky people tend to be more extroverted and happier in their lives. They put on a power outfit and a smile on their face and attend networking events and chat confidently with other attendees. They form relationships that could ultimately be beneficial for all those involved. Lucky people reach down to help others up the mountain that they are both climbing.
They Act Positively
Lucky people see the positive in even bad situations, realizing that this too shall come to pass. They do not dwell on a bad situation and consider what can be done in the short term to deal with it. They also may see the silver lining such as realizing that the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) closings and quarantines are resulting in reduced gasoline consumption, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Positive people are grateful for what they do have even in bad times.
They Make Good Decisions
Lucky people do not stand idle waiting for good things to happen. They look for opportunities that will bring them closer to their goals and decide which path to pursue based on the current available information. When circumstances seem to be putting obstacles in their path, lucky people ask if they could have predicted the outcome and avoided the situation? If yes, then they may have made a poor decision and need to come up with a new strategy. If the answer is no, then it is likely something out of their control and they cannot despair; it’s again time for a new strategy.
Occurrences of luck or serendipity rarely occur. In most cases, we do have control over the events in our lives and how we choose to react to them. We can then create our own luck by being prepared to help ourselves, and to engage in self-fulfilling prophecies that good things will happen to us. Good luck and be positive.