In this week's New Age Notebook, I am going to address a subject that often comes up in the chat rooms: LUCK. Why is it that some people seem to be born with horseshoes up the wazoo while others battle an endless string of disasters and setbacks?Is there such thing as being born under a lucky star? Is it karma or a curse? While some are eternal victims of Murphy's Law: "if something can go wrong, it will.", others seem to be able to get away with murder and suffer no consequences at all.
Luckily, I came across a very interesting article in the London Telegraph about this subject by Richard Wiseman, a researcher who has been studying extremely lucky and very unlucky people for the past ten years. His goal was to find out if it was possible for anybody to become "luckier."
Wiseman asked hundreds of people who felt they were either "very lucky" or "very unlucky" to fill out diaries and take part in questionnaires. I. Q. tests and experiments. The findings have revealed that although unlucky people have almost no insight into the causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their malfortune.
First he refers to what is called the "chance opportunity" or "lucky break." We all know that lucky people consistently encounter them, while unlucky people do not. Wiseman performed a test in which he asked both fortunate and unfortunate people to search through a newspaper and find out how many photographs were inside.
On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? Because the second page of the newspaper contained the message: "Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper!" This message took up half the page and was written in type that was more than five centimetres high. It was staring everyone in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky tended to spot it. For fun, Wiseman apparently placed a second large message halfway through the newspaper: "Stop counting. Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $700?." Again, the unlucky people missed the opportunity because they were still stuck in the past -- too busy looking for the original 43 photographs.
So it seems that being too obsessed or attached to pursuing one goal, tends to make you somehow blind to opportunity and somehow unlucky. Personality tests also revealed that unlucky people are generally much more tense than lucky people, and research has shown that anxiety disrupts people's ability to notice the unexpected. The harder they looked, the less they saw. Unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else.
Wiseman opened a "luck school, conducted all kinds of experiments and in the end concluded that lucky people generate good fortune by using the following three techniques:
? USE YOUR INTUITION! Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation. Gut feelings act as an alarm bell - to consider a decision carefully.
? VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE! Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. By contrast, lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. Doing the same thing every day, or thinking about the same thing every day creates a rut that prevents you from encountering opportunity.
? ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE! Lucky people tend to see the positive side of ill fortune. If they get a bad break, they cheer themselves up by saying "it could have been worse." When one of Wiseman's extremely lucky subjects broke his leg, he cheerfully explained that it could have been worse - he could have broken his neck.
So, in a nutshell, how do you change your luck? Think outside the box, think positive, don't dwell on the past and if you fall off your horse, get right back on it. According to Wiseman, good or ill fortune is not karma, its not a curse and its definitely not magic. It is self-created.
Samantha Steven's articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. If you wish to buy Samantha's books about metaphysics click here http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110 You can meet Samantha Stevens at http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110 where she works as a professional psychic. You can also read more of her articles at http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110
after renovation cleaning Glenview ..I've been thinking a lot about what I believe to... Read More
If you want to be rich and famous, you have... Read More
All too often, we push ourselves past the limits of... Read More
1. They are hard working. There is no such thing... Read More
The best and fastest way to learn how to make... Read More
Self-improvement; A great deal has been written on the subject,... Read More
Imagine that right now, right here, today? there is within... Read More
He was pencil thin and walked with a limp. A... Read More
With the long-term trend of protecting employees' individual self esteem... Read More
The ten-year period which followed the stock market crash of... Read More
A person who is illiterate can look at a word... Read More
The ultimate expression of life is not a paycheck. The... Read More
Everything we do in life involves risk. There's no growth... Read More
As I have worked with people over the years I... Read More
There is a disquieting trend emerging among women particularly -... Read More
Napoleon Hill coined the concept of the mastermind alliance in... Read More
Back from my amazing summer excursion, a month long drive... Read More
Don't talk to me about how to succeed! I've read... Read More
On a raw, cold day in the European Alps, Lance... Read More
Daddy was a very, very odd little man-possibly a schizophrenic-for... Read More
Choice isn't always a matter of being able to choose... Read More
Dr. Wayne Dyer published his best-selling book, "10 Secrets for... Read More
Everything we have in life is because of the help... Read More
As kind of a hobby I like to watch people.... Read More
The gambling instinct is in every man or woman. All... Read More
no-contract cleaning service Lincolnshire ..With the long-term trend of protecting employees' individual self esteem... Read More
There is a disquieting trend emerging among women particularly -... Read More
What is a champion really? Sure, all success oriented people... Read More
Choice isn't always a matter of being able to choose... Read More
When entering second adulthood, many women will begin a journey... Read More
What if I told you that you could be more... Read More
Do you know how much time do you spend listening?... Read More
Reggie Yates, a pop song presenter, was singing on 7th... Read More
Q: Are you a success?A: Its all in how you... Read More
For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That's one... Read More
Thomas Edison has done it. Naomi Watts often jokes about... Read More
Something happens when you come to the intersection... Read More
Conditions differ from circumstances. Circumstances are changeable conditions which merely... Read More
Recently, I was asked to write a Top 10 list... Read More
Most dictionary entries would define failure as the simple lack... Read More
The Outlaw Josey Wales is an interesting Western that I... Read More
What do Sam Walton, Ray Kroc, Hilton, Marriot, Firestone, Elvis... Read More
Wealthy people share common traits. That's why they are wealthy.... Read More
What does "Lessons from My Garden" have to do with... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
On a raw, cold day in the European Alps, Lance... Read More
Over the years many people have offered their models of... Read More
The other day I went shopping at the local consumer... Read More
I did it my way -Frank SinatraWhat is a successful... Read More
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a... Read More
Success |