Is There Such Thing as ‘Luck’?

Lisa Franchi February 23, 2012

When Cassey and Matt won the £45m EuroMillions lottery jackpot in February 2012, thousands of people said the same thing – they’re very lucky. Luck is something that we have always wanted. Everyone wants to be fortunate in love, health, and wealth. But is there such thing as luck? 

Richard Wiseman from the University of Hertfordshire in England spent a decade studying the concept of luck and he found out that ‘lucky people’ have similar traits that make them even luckier than other people. He did this by interviewing people and asking them how they perceive the word ‘luck’. He found out that those who called themselves lucky are those who got high scores in personality test of extraversion. 

What makes a person lucky?

1. Having a huge network of friends and acquaintances.

Richard Wiseman has published his study on a book entitled The Luck Factor. There, he revealed the secrets of being lucky. According to him, people who meet lots of new people and are able to get in touch with them are those who are more likely to experience a fortuitous encounter. He conducted an experiment to measure how an individual who consider himself lucky would react to chance opportunity as compared to the others. He left money on the ground on the way to the respondent’s potential encounter to a businessman. Upon seeing the money, the ‘lucky’ guy immediately picked it up and put it in his pocket and went on talking to the businessman. On the other hand, the ‘unlucky’ woman simply stepped on the cash and sipped her coffee, not saying a word to the businessman.

Now that the internet is flourishing, having a huge network of friends and acquaintances can be very helpful especially for those who want to establish an online business. Other people can help you in so many ways you can’t imagine. Keeping in touch with them is therefore ideal.

2. Open-mindedness to countless possibilities

Lucky people are always open to possibilities. They have goals too but they understand that bad things may happen along the way. And because they have this realisation, they don’t usually get disappointed when misfortunes come. Consequently, open-minded people fail to look on positive possibilities. When they go to the mall, they think of the possibility of meeting a new friend, getting discounts on certain items, finding a love interest, and so on.

3. Making their own luck

If opportunities don’t seem to knock on your door, keep your door open. This is a trait that’s very common to lucky people. Instead of waiting for others to make friends with them, lucky individuals are the ones who initiate acquaintances. Instead of waiting for the call from the company they applied, lucky people make the call.

4. Embracing change and risks with open arms

On another experiment conducted by Wiseman, he asked participants to count how many photographs are there in the newspaper. There were 43 and it took a long time for the participants to count the pictures. However, they could have completed the task in seconds had they read the large print on the second page telling them there are 43. Here’s the thing – some people are very focused on what they ought to do that they miss the opportunities. Lucky people are not afraid to go out of their comfort zone and try another field. Why? Because they believe there’s a possibility of excelling on that subject. A lucky individual would dare to cook a dish he has never tried before. He can travel alone to a faraway place without bringing a map because somewhere along the way, he knows that there are sources of help.