Pickup Lines for Lady Luck

December 31, 2003 2:47 PM

Want to get lucky? Just start thinking like you already are.
posted by thomascrown (8 comments total)

"They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition..."

Perhaps more important than recognizing opportunities when they present themselves is being bold enough to actually take them.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:28 PM on December 31, 2003

Chance favors the prepared mind. -- Pasteur
posted by dhartung at 9:38 PM on December 31, 2003

[This is good]
posted by weston at 1:34 AM on January 1, 2004

NPR interview with Dr. Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor.
posted by Ariadne at 8:43 AM on January 1, 2004 [1 favorite]

I have beleived this, or something like it, for a while now. 90% of what defines wether ones life "sucks" or is "great" is ones attitude. Unhapiness is controlled to a larger degree by attitude than one might think. The biggest mistake anyone can make is to think the circumstances of their life, not their reaction to them, is what is causing their distress. No matter how bad things get, I can at least visualize someone else that could handle it well. I then try to copy what they might do. In this way I dont have to actually be a strong person, just copy them.

Try an experiment. When presented with a situation in life that has many possible outcomes, pick the most positive one to believe in. The more positive outcome is usually no more or less probable than the negative one, so why not believe in yourself and the possibilities in your life? If some sort of emotional baggage prevents you from making the positive choice, turn and face that stuff head on until you can best it. Problems always get smaller in the light.
posted by jester69 at 10:12 AM on January 1, 2004

Then there are goofy people like me. I expect the worse and get all anxious over it. But very often the best happens instead, because I am a lucky person. Just ask my partner how lucky I am!

Great article, thanks.

posted by Goofyy at 8:20 AM on January 2, 2004

My girlfriend has the WORST luck of anyone I've ever met. That's not an exaggeration, she really has terrible luck. However, she's also really anxious all the time, has concentration problems, and is often quite pessimistic. Bad luck just perpetuates those traits, of course, but this story is interesting in that it directly links the two. I personally find that my good attitude does have an effect on my "luck" and my general happiness with my life.
posted by fizgig at 10:01 AM on January 2, 2004

The famous writer Ted Trueblood wrote an article in the '60s in which he concludes the same and provides anecdotal evidence. The study group? Fishermen. Field & Stream Feb '61
posted by roboto at 5:26 PM on January 2, 2004