Be lucky!

One of my Dad’s favourite sayings was ‘Be Lucky!’ Throughout my life this was often said when we were saying goodbye, ‘Be lucky Kid’. I always took this to mean that once out in the big wide world I would look out for lucky chances and create some too. So, with the Chinese New Year upon us, and it being The Year of the Dragon it is hard not to make some kind of note on this.

The Dragon is considered the luckiest animal of the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs. People born in the year of the Dragon are considered to be ‘lucky’. On 4th of February, 2012, the Chinese Zodiac year begins as does the luckiest year. I thought it was a good time to ponder what we define as ‘luck’. I personally, love luck! I am a sucker for a good luck story, warms me more than a Starbucks latte on a cold day. But what does it mean to you?

Do we make own?

Are we born lucky?

I have a lot of lucky days, I feel luckier on some than I do on others, I even own a pair of lucky pants! (not pictured) The day I found this Four Leaf Clover was a lucky one, it ended a 30 year search!

What about you, do you consider yourself lucky? Most adults I asked said no. (Interesting to note that every child I asked said yes!) However, when pushed a little, most adults could think of times they had been lucky. So, does luck come and go? Surely if good things happened all the time, it’d be boring. Or would it? Is considering yourself lucky more a case of being optimistic and having a PMA?

I am sure we can all think of someone we consider to be lucky but are they really lucky, or do we just perceive them as such because we see good things happening to them? Someone said to me recently, ‘Things will always work out for you, you’re one of those people’. It made me wonder if I was one of those people? People do say to me a fair amount, ‘you’re so lucky!’ I always think it’s half state of mind and half being expectant of good things. I’m always thankful for what I have and I try to put a positive spin on things, but I don’t consider myself luckier than the next person. I’m no different to anyone else.

This little movie scene popped into my head earlier today when discussing luck with friends. In Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, Harry slips some ‘Liquid Luck’ into Ron’s drink. Believing to be feeling the effects of Liquid Luck, Ron then goes off and accomplishes everything he wanted to. Harry later admits to Hermione that he only pretended to give Ron the lucky potion, it had a placebo effect on him. Because Ron thought he was lucky, he acted lucky.

You think, therefore you are.

So can you recreate luck? Can having a Positive Mental Attitude help you in this?

My Dad believed in luck but also thought we made our own and I agree. Whatever you face, the way you perceive and deal with it is key. If a bad thing happens, you could get caught up thinking that bad things only happen to you. Whereas we know this is untrue, bad things happen to everyone. Just as good things happen to everyone and can happen at any time. When you learn to drive, you suddenly see learner cars everywhere. Then you pass your test and you don’t notice them. Wherever your focus is, that’s where your focus is.

Believe in luck!