Content provided by the Health & Wellness Team at GBS Benefits
Do you believe in lucky charms? Maybe it’s a certain shirt you wear on game day or another type of ritual to summon Lady Luck. Research indicates lucky objects or lucky thinking can boost self-confidence and therefore positively influence self-assurance and performance. Lucky symbols can be fun and make you feel more optimistic, but you don’t always need horseshoes, four-leaf clovers, or other items to improve your luck. In fact, you can rely on positive attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors instead.
While there may not be a multitude of scientific studies to support the validity of lucky symbols, there is something to be said for creating your own luck and searching out opportunity. Richard Wiseman, author of the book Luck Factor, said, “As a whole, people can change their luck. It’s not something paranormal in nature, but rather something that we are creating by our thoughts and behavior.”
Maximize Opportunity – Lucky people create, notice, and act upon opportunities in their lives. It turns out that some personalities are luckier than others, only because they tend to create scenarios that maximize opportunity and thereby increase luck. People who tend to be more extroverted spend more time with others, which in turn exposes them to more possibilities. People who are confident in themselves are typically open to expanding their interests and engaging in new experiences.
Activity: Focus on the good and fortunate things in your life. Write down three fortunate things occurring in your life right now. Find ways to maximize your potential through these opportunities.
Turn Bad Luck Into Good Luck – Mattias Lepp said, “Sometimes failure can be a wonderful stroke of luck. You may think you know what your next step should be, but when you take it and fail, the lesson you learn ultimately ends up being what was standing between you and success.” Lucky people tend to handle adversity differently than unlucky people. Turn your misfortune into something positive by putting an optimistic spin on it. Don’t dwell on your misfortune and be confident that in the long run, things will work out. When you have fun and feel more positive, that attitude makes you luckier, too!
Try this: Look for silver linings and alter the way you view the world. Journal about an experience that seemed negative in the moment but turned out positive.
Expect Good Fortune – Be optimistic. When you think things will work out, you persevere. When you’re resilient, you give possibilities more time to work out in your favor. Optimists tend to be luckier because they push themselves toward opportunities and positive outcomes. They also tend to activate confidence through believing they have good fortune.
Activity: If you don’t have a favorite lucky symbol already, find one that inspires you. For example, the ladybug is considered good luck for adoption. Many find joy through noticing this as a symbol of hope. Another lucky symbol is a cricket, which represents wealth and good luck. Their visits remind us to be happy and could be a sign of good things to come! Identify something that can bring you hope and good fortune.
Turn Your Healthy Habits into Lucky Habits – The smallest choices define who we are, the quality of people who are drawn to us, environments in which we find ourselves, how we spend our time, and the media we consume. Examine the choices you make daily and how they develop into habits. Infuse change into a system or process to see positive changes in your lifestyle.
Activity: Consider going to bed 30 minutes earlier as your new lucky habit. Maybe this change will help you feel more energized in the morning or give you the boost to exercise before work. Perhaps this small change can alter your daily mindset and promote other healthy and lucky habits.
Be your own leprechaun this year by trying out some of the above activities to lean into your luck!
References:
https://bakadesuyo.com/2015/07/how-to-attract-good-luck/
https://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/20-ways-to-attract-good-luck.html
https://parade.com/1173388/jessicasager/st-patricks-day-traditions/
https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a35206963/st-patricks-day-traditions/
