What is Luck?

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What is Luck?

 Do you believe in it?

I firmly believe that we can make our own luck it all depends on an attitude of mind. To see what I mean look at the following example.  I was chatting with a colleague at the same time as making some tea. I picked up the milk carton and it slipped from my hand just tipping over slightly. As I caught it from falling and going everywhere the colleague commented “your unlucky look at the mess that’s made.”  I on the other hand responded very differently by saying. “That was lucky it could have gone all over my clothes.”  I happened to be wearing some new trousers and although it was something that could be deemed as unlucky I simply changed the experience by how I viewed it.  Life can deal us unexpected blows that sometimes knock us over it happens to everyone regardless of whether you deem yourself luck or not. The trick is to get straight back up and try again. You see, lucky people see the positive side of things so when they come across bad luck in their lives they look at it from a completely different perspective. By imagining that things could have been much worse they realise in fact how lucky they actually are as I said it’s a question of attitude.

 Letting Go

One of the key principles is don’t dwell on things, let it go. I’m not playing down experiences such as the death of a loved one or redundancy it’s painful and very real. But this can apply to so many areas. Take another example from my own life. It could be said that having depression as I did for many years was unlucky. I could easily have made myself into a victim by saying “why me, what have I done to deserve this.” After coming through those dark years my attitude is one of “if I hadn’t experienced depression it wouldn’t have led me down this path in life. Depression helped turn my life around and I’ve made it into a positive experience that I can share with others to give them hope and inspiration. The same happened when my husband and I lost a business many years ago. Whilst we suffered financial losses  It was a turning point for us both and I set off on a new course including Life Coaching and writing which has given me great personal growth and fulfillment. Something I wasn’t getting from the business.

 Positive Outcomes.

I have coached clients who have come to me after being unsuccessful at job interviews. I point out that persistence is the key they are not destined to be unlucky it’s more like a challenge that needs to be overcome Try and try again you can’t just give up. Learn from mistakes you may have made and use it as an experience to learn and grow. Something better may just be around the corner.  You always have a choice whether to look at negative things that happen as good or bad luck. It’s your choice to see the good or the bad in any situation. Lucky people take a constructive approach to life by taking action, persisting, and believing that negative events will eventually work out positive in the end.  Try reflecting on one or two things in your own life where you may be able to us these principles. If you practice using these small ideas the results can be amazing.  

I read this  book many years ago still using it in my life today  ‘The Luck Factor’ by Richard Wiseman about the psychology of luck its well worth a read.  

 

Clover picture courtesy of flicker commons James Hall

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