Dr Richard Wiseman has studied Luck for over 10 years and has shown that lucky people have certain traits and characteristics that make them more prone to being lucky.

Defining ‘being lucky‘

Being lucky could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. What I am talking about here is being lucky in life, not lucky in the lottery or any other form of gambling, as this is down to chance alone. Being lucky in life is when you have the life you want and it seemingly happens by accident, by pure luck.

I work with someone who seems incredibly unlucky in everything she does. If something unlucky is going to happen it will happen to her. She is a manic person whose mind is constantly racing and she tries to do 100 things at once. When she talks it’s at 100 miles per hour, she asks questions about 5 times before taking it in, she is distrustful of people, she sees the bad in everyone and to top it off she’s a very nice person. However, she must be the unluckiest person I have ever met.

In contrast I know someone else who seems to be incredibly lucky. He is optimistic, sees the good in people, believes that good things will happen to him and his family and regularly has conversations about the good things he wishes for himself and his family. He knows what he wants and he goes after it with all guns blazing. Yet he is laid back, he is a very kind and generous person and is happy in life.

People who are lucky show certain characteristics and beliefs about themselves and the world so I would like to share with you the eight ways to be more lucky.

7 ways to be more lucky

1. Belief: Believing that you will get the things you want in life and deserve the things you want in life will make you more prone to receiving them. Why is this? When you think about something you see a picture in your head, when you have a picture in your head your mind is locked onto receiving it. When you mind is locked onto receiving something it will start, unconsciously, to notice ways of getting what you want. It will start to notice opportunities that you might have missed had you not had that picture in your head and the belief it could happen.
2. Taking risks: People who are lucky take more risks. This doesn’t mean they gamble their house and take risks on new businesses and forgetting their family. Taking a risk can be calculated, you weigh up your options know what you can afford to lose and go for it. If it doesn’t work out you go for it again when you can afford to lose more.
3. Working hard: A lot of sports stars, singers, dancers, actors etc seem to have become famous overnight and are rich beyond belief. However what most people don’t see is that those same people have spent years of hard work and sacrifice to get to where they are today. Take Sylvester Stallone, he auditioned with every casting agency he could and didn’t get anywhere until he wrote a script for Rambo, and the rest is history. Working hard is a pre-requisite to being lucky.
4. Generosity: Being generous to others seems to be a trait in all lucky people. They give generously of their time and their money. They share their luck and wealth among others. A lot of people share their knowledge which can be more valuable than money or time. I have met so many people through this blog and I believe it’s because I share what I know and what I have learned throughout my life and throughout the research I have done over the years.
5. Instinct: Listening to your instinct can be invaluable when it comes to choosing what you want in life. How many times have you had the instinct to go for something but your brain held you back and told you all the reasons not to do it, then later on you find out it would have worked out well after all. We all have instincts for a reason and some people take more heed when it comes to listening to their instincts, you can hone this ability simply by listening with your body, be aware of your bodily sensations when you are thinking about trying something new. The more you trust your instinct the more it will serve you better.
6. Positive outlook: Having a positive outlook on life is a must if you are to become a luckier person. If you outlook on life is doom and gloom then I am afraid to say this is how you will see life itself. Your brain thinks ‘I am a gloomy little git, so I will look for things to be gloomy about’ whereas if you have a positive outlook your brain will say ‘I am a cheery liitle git, I will look for more things to be cheery about’. You control what is input int your brain by your thoughts, change your thoughts and you will change your life.
7. Coping with bad luck: The way you cope with bad luck can change your life. If something bad happens to me I always look at what could have made that situation worse. Two weeks ago my washing machine, power shower and gas all packed up at the same time. It was going to cost over £700 to get them all fixed. Luckily, my wife had taken out a gas plan 1 week previous and we were covered for the repairs which would have cost us hundreds. We managed fine with a bath, and are still doing so, and we bough a new washing machine which was on special offer at the time, how lucky was that. Now, instead of thinking ‘oh why oh why does this happen to me, I am the unluckiest person in the world, what is going to happen next’ I thought ‘jesus, that could have been a lot worse.

Being lucky does not happen by luck it happens by having a positive attitude in life, working hard and sharing yourself with others. This has been proven in numerous studies and time and time again it has been shown that changing your thoughts really does change your luck.