Luck is a Skill (I knew it!!!)

I just stumbled across this article about luck. As counter intuitive as it may be (to you at least ), it seems luck actually a well-honed skill. That’s right! If you want to be lucky, all it takes is a healthy dose of optimism, and positive thinking.

I’m all for optimism anyway– I just think it feels better. But this guy is not simply telling us to change our attitude if we want to feel happier. He’s talking about the real, tangible results of a paradigm shift¹. (¹ See The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“).

Here’s a quote:

I asked a group of lucky and unlucky volunteers to spend a month carrying out exercises designed to help them think and behave like a lucky person. These exercises helped them spot chance opportunities, listen to their intuition, expect to be lucky, and be more resilient to bad luck.

One month later, the volunteers returned and described what had happened. The results were dramatic: 80 per cent of people were now happier, more satisfied with their lives and, perhaps most important of all, luckier.

I swear I’m a case study of this principle! In the last two years my outlook, and in turn my life, have changed so dramatically for the better that I’m considering listing “luck” on my resume as a skill.

This is exactly the sort of thing that The Secret talks about, although it attributes success to “the universe,” which sounds much more mystical. Either way they both contain universal truth that is worth heeding.

So if you don’t feel lucky, then look on the bright side.

UPDATE: Apparently this guy has a book called Luck Factor. (Yes, it’s an affiliate link. I’m feeling lucky. )