Why do some people have all the luck while others are perpetually unlucky? Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire was determined to get to the scientific bottom of the phenomenon of luck, and what he discovered may surprise you:
I placed advertisements in national newspapers asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me.
Hundreds of extraordinary men and women volunteered for my research and over the years, have been interviewed by me. I have monitored their lives and had them take part in experiments. The results reveal that although these people have almost no insight into the causes of their luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their good and bad fortune. Take the case of seemingly chance opportunities. Lucky people consistently encounter such opportunities, whereas unlucky people do not.
I carried out a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities. I gave both lucky and unlucky people a newspaper, and asked them to look through it and tell me how many photographs were inside. I had secretly placed a large message halfway through the newspaper saying: 'Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $50'.
This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than two inches high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.
Unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people, and this anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3896391.cms | Richard Wiseman's official website | His book: The Luck Factor
Fortune favors the bold.
While it is better to be lucky than good, being both is best.
Sometimes, the luckiest person is just the best scorekeeper.
A positive outlook goes a lot further than people imagine.
“I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
Thomas Jefferson
“Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.”
Langston Coleman
“Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.”
Earl Wilson
“The day you decide to do it is your lucky day”
Japanese Proverb
“Being deeply learned and skilled, being well trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck”
Buddha
"Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do you see a trend? Work hard, get educated, be kind, and you will have all the luck you need.
This study is a microcosm of something I've always believed: While reality is objective, a person's subjectivity greatly effect their own 'realities'. So, a person expecting crappiness will experience it more often (because they are looking for it and will ignore non-crappiness), even to a subconcious level. And vice-versa.
That being said, it IS difficult to change the way you think and percieve. But if you work at it, you'd be suprised how much happier you end up! :D
The second you doubt yourself... all luck is gone!
It is important to set goals today for tomorrow.
I have been bless with the gift, so my luck continues.
Danny
To me wouldn't luck be something like why do we live in a developed country and eat while millions of other go hungry?
How do you measure something that is far beyond are power? Why do you think the bullet hits one and misses the other? Do honestly think the bullet cares if you are tense or relaxed or not?
Don't belittle luck. Only one out of a million when the jackpot and that my friend makes you very very lucky..and rich.
Sincerely,
Beau Carpenter
Another common element is patience. Patient people are awake, aware and mindful. They see things as they really are and fit right in. Success is aligning oneself with what is so. Unlucky people are always in conflict with people, places and events. Their thinking makes it so.
Lastly, "lucky" people seem to wait on a "higher power" if you will. They have learned the secret of abandoning selfishness to a higher Self. They seem to know what to say and do at the right moment when given the cue. This is spiritual maturity.
For the unlucky:"If I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all"
For the lucky "As a man thinketh, so is he."
to get them a wonderful start in life. They don't
have to worry about making a living. Their work is
also their play.
but what about luck having to do with say...Poker? or Lottery?
Red.
I wish this post had elaborated on the reasoning beyond the single sentence at the end.
Flip the coin....
My ex, ever the "Negative Nancy", instead of silently glad at my misfortune of losing my only transportation (which I expected), openly sulked because 'she has all the luck!' To this day, I'm perplexed! LoL
Red
When you are so involved in something mentally, you can not even see anything else, but the things related to your thinking. And that's how you attract "luck" into your life.
It is the author of "The Luck Factor" who is lucky because he has brainwash people into purchasing his junk.
One of the conclusions must be that the second place reward for being unlucky wouild be that they are also the ones who make all the great discoveries.
As the first place reward, don't forget to gift the lucky ones some pom-poms. What, that makes no sense? The ditz, aka cheerleader, is always lucky.
Did you control for blood sugar level? ...or for the presence of herbs, or nosenbleeds, ot needlepoints?
Bad humor is not targeted at you fella, it's just that I am so unlucky that I do not see the light?
Red
However this study does seem to support the idea that lucky people are able to more clearly see opportunities that are presented to them.
From now on, I am a lucky person.
As for the ad in the newspaper- those of us "unlucky" people didn't miss the ad- we ignored it- because WE are the type of people who don't win anything and we are smart enough to realize a scam when we see it! Negative? Yes. Honest? Yes. Reality? Yes. We may be unlucky, but we are also intelligent enough to know better!
You chose to ignore the ad, and so you lost out on $50! Imagine if you will, that you stop ignoring things. Think about embracing instead of ignoring. You are choosing to be like this, no one else is making you negative. It's your choice. If you choose to ignore, then yes, you are unlucky in that aspect because you choose not to take the chance. Why not take the chance instead of ignoring it? I don't understand that logic?
question email me jes_francillette@yahoo.com
Have you ever thought that maybe those of us who are unlucky have previously embraced things and it didn't make any difference? How do you know that the $50 wasn't a scam- and you ended up losing $200 in the process? That would be the type of luck I have- doesn't matter what I do. So what did I really lose? Nothing. As someone stated, if you get kicked in the teeth enough, you do become defensive and cynical, so why keep trying when nothing ever changes? I have come to that point in my life where I no longer embrace things- there is no reason to. It makes more sense for me to protect myself- whether it be my wallet, my mentality or my heart- than to take a "chance" at luck! Believe me, if you had enough bad luck come your way, you would feel the same. 'Nuff said!
new bank account. I still have both.
I am a great guitarist but I get very few jobs despite satisfied customers who rave about me. It seems if it involves the opportunity to get ahead financially I have no luck at all. Then again I feel luck is like driving a car and not holding the steering wheel,Then expecting to get to your destination.
I was born in a even year- and I am very unlucky, so that theory doesn't work either. I believe some people are just meant to be luckier than others- period. Has nothing to do with anything.
1. Joy... enjoying life, seeing beauty, appreciating good fortune, and being realistic that not everything in life will always be fun; then you appreciate the good times. Stevie Wonder was born blind, but probably considers himself lucky for his talent, fame and success. Check out Helen Keller...
2. Practical intelligence... not just getting a good education, but learning something in every experience. That makes the difference - putting that education to the test, in all situations... and getting something out of it that you can use. And never stop learning!
3. What's your point? (in being here)... After all, a purposeless life is meaningless. I've spent my life in service - to my country for 24 years in the Army, to others, as a nurse for 15 years, to my students for the last 2 1/2 years as a teacher, and as a graduate student, writing practice quizzes for my classmates to help us all on our journey to oriental medical licensure. Many of my experiences have been difficult, but I consider myself luckier than any lotto winner or international financier (OK, maybe some of them aren't feeling lucky at all these days).
Nurture the first two, and exercise the third, and you'll be lucky, too.
L = Labor
U = Under
C = Correct
K = Knowledge