Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?

Luck has been scientifically proven. But it’s not what you think it is. Here is how you can increase your luck.

Photo by Sam te Kiefte on Unsplash

Luck is often believed to be a mystical form of energy that may favor some people more than others. Luck works in mysterious ways and is entirely out of our control. Some people swear on the power of their lucky charms and get anxious when a black cat crosses their path.

While luck may be important when trying to win the lottery, most aspects of your life are not down to luck at all. Even if it sometimes feels that way.

Whether someone is lucky or not, we can only say in hindsight. You see someone being successful again and again, that’s when you start calling him lucky. But it’s impossible to call someone lucky before he has a streak.

Because in the end, luck is not real. Probability is, and it doesn’t care under which star you were born or what your favorite number is. However, science has accepted the challenge to verify luck’s existence. Here’s what they found.

The luck factor solved

British psychologist Richard Wiseman has published an interesting study back in 2003, called “The luck factor”, and it sheds some interesting light on Lady Luck.

As it turns out, luck does exist. It just exists in a different form than we think. Rather than being a mystical wheel of fortune, luck is the product of opportunities that fly your way and your skill to grab them.

And like any other skill you have, you can train it.

Prof. Wiseman has run countless questionnaires, experiments, and interviews with more than 400 people who either consider themselves really lucky or really unlucky. And these people, coming from all sorts of backgrounds, couldn’t be more different from each other. A retired accountant, a nurse, a salesman, a flight attendant…

There was only one thing that separated the lucky and unlucky people from each other — Their behavior.

Lucky people are more open and try new things, while those who consider themselves unlucky are generally more cautious, more anxious, and less prone to taking any risks.