Lucky

The first time I went to Las Vegas was the last time I gambled. Our flight from Dallas had a layover in Denver. Denver was hit with a huge snow storm just as we landed, so our 1 hour layover became 13. We got to our hotel in Vegas around 2 AM and headed straight for our room. Just as we were passing the last row of slot machines, I dropped a quarter in and pulled the handle – back when they had handles. Ka-ching! $50 just like that. Was that a lucky or unlucky day? Perhaps it was lucky because that slot machine turned around a tough day. Although a coin toss or the lottery is far more about chance than luck.

Richard Wiseman, Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology, has conducted many interesting experiments. To study luck, he surveyed a group of people to identify those who consider themselves very lucky or very unlucky. Both groups took a personality test and were handed a newspaper. They were asked to count the number of pictures in the newspaper quickly. The unlucky people completed the task in about 4-5 minutes. Most of the lucky people were done within a few seconds.

A few pages in was a half-page ad with 2-inch tall letters that told the participant they could stop counting there were 43 photographs in the paper. Most of the lucky people saw this ad. In the 2nd half of the paper was a similar ad that said, "Stop counting, tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250." None of the unlucky people found this second ad despite going through the entire newspaper.

Paired with the personality assessment, he found that people who identified as unlucky also tended to be anxious and therefore struggled to notice the unexpected. Those not paying attention missed out on two great opportunities. Opportunities that were available to everyone. Lucky people tend to try things in different ways and continue trying new things. Quite literally our luck can change with our mindset.

Luck seems to be more about what I make of my circumstances rather than the situation itself. Am I maximizing my situation? Am I approaching life with curiosity? Is my head up to see those opportunities? Do I feel lucky?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.

P.S. from Dr. Wiseman: "Imagine a scenario where [you] are waiting in a bank when 'an armed robber enters the bank, fires a shot, and the bullet hits [you] in the arm.' Is this event lucky or unlucky?"