The loser's guide to getting lucky

Why do some people get all
the luck while others never
get the breaks they
deserve? A psychologist
says he has discovered the answer.
By Professor Richard Wiseman
University of Hertfordshire

Anxiety

It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky
people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.

Unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people,
and this anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected.

"As a result, they miss opportunities because they are too
focused on looking for something else. "

They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and
so miss opportunities to make good friends.

They look through newspapers determined to find certain
types of job advertisements and miss other types of jobs.

Self-fulfilling prophecies

Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see
what is there rather than just what they are looking for.

"Luck is believing you're lucky ".

lucky people generate good fortune via four principles:-
They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities,
make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create
self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt
a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

"luck factor"

four top tips for becoming lucky:

• Listen to your gut instincts - they are normally right
• Be open to new experiences and breaking your normal routine
• Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well
• Visualise yourself being lucky before an important meeting or telephone call. Luck is very often a self-fulfilling prophecy