The way you think about luck is wrong

As a guilty beholder of many a rose quartz amulet (come forth, Mr Perfect Match), I’m conscious I leave a lot to luck.

According to Sharp, there are pros and cons to this. “Luck overlaps quite a bit with hope and optimism, so believing in luck could potentially be inspiring and motivating,” he points out.

“That being said, it could have a downside if these beliefs lead to one not taking responsibility for their life. Believing in luck as something that you have to passively wait for could be much less useful and even harmful.”

In 2003, British professor Richard Wiseman released The Luck Factor, a book that was the result of a 10-year scientific study into the nature of luck.

His conclusion – a whole lot better than the one I was planning – was that, largely, people make their own good and bad fortune. And the message he’s been publicly backing ever since is that it is possible to enhance the amount of luck you experience in life.

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Sharp echoes the sentiment: “If we see luck as something we can create, then it can most definitely be something we can influence.”

It starts, unsurprisingly, with an attitude shift. “If we develop an attitude in which we’re looking for opportunities, we’re far more likely to increase our chances of happiness and success,” Sharp explains.

As you expose yourself to opportunities by getting out and about as much as possible, be open to positivity, he adds. That is, actively look for what’s good and what’s going well, or what you can make good and well – and be mindful of helpful and unhelpful thoughts and beliefs.

“Most of us have a constant stream of inner thoughts, but many are unaware of this internal dialogue,” says Dr Sharp. “Being more cognisant of it can help us be more aware of the opportunities that exist.”

The key psychological principle, however, is to simply expect good things to happen. “Too often we ask things like, ‘What if this goes wrong?’ but we’d be better off asking, ‘What if it all works out well?’”

And if or when things don’t turn out the way you hoped? Look for the lessons to be learned, Sharp advises. “‘Lucky’ people find ways to profit from and become better as a result of unlucky times.”

So while most of us learn and set our beliefs in our early years, they’re not completely impervious to tweaks. If anything, they’re just awaiting a lucky change.

Samera Kamaleddine is the winner of the inaugural Matilda Prize and author of YA novel Half My Luck, out now through HarperCollins.

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