Can You Make Your Own Luck?

Are people just born lucky? Can unlucky people somehow change their luck? Professor Richard Wiseman has done some fascinating research showing luck is a state of mind, not some mystical ability to transform misfortune into success. He contends you can change your luck simply by shifting the way you think.

To validate this hypothesis Wiseman surveyed over 700 people. First he asked if they considered themselves lucky, unlucky, or neutral. Then he followed up with a series of tests:

• Asking participants to predict how well they would do at a card guessing game.
• Presenting them two metal puzzles, only one of which was solvable. Based on a coin toss, they were handed one of the two puzzles and asked if they got the solvable one or the unsolvable one.
• Asking them to count the number of photos in a newspaper.

To a statistically significant degree, lucky and unlucky people approached the tasks in completely opposite ways. How could that be? The lucky people had a different approach to life than the unlucky ones.

Three Pillars To Make Your Own Luck

Optimism

When asked to predict how well they would do at a game of guessing black or red playing cards, unlucky people generally went with the odds (50/50), but lucky people consistently predicted that they would do better than the odds. Statistically, the unlucky people were correct—on average everyone in the study guessed about half the cards right.

However, the goal was not to see who could guess the most cards correctly but rather understand the mindset of people who considered themselves lucky. The lucky people felt they had some advantage. They were optimistic that they could beat the odds. As we’ll see in future newsletters, this optimistic mindset leads to many other benefits.

Resilience

On the metal puzzle test, based on a coin toss, each participant was given one of the two puzzles then asked if they got the solvable one or the unsolvable one. Unbeknownst to the participants both metal puzzles were unsolvable. Yet, 70% of the lucky people thought they received the solvable one while 60% of the unlucky people thought they received the unsolvable one.

The lucky people also spent more time diligently trying to solve the puzzle and often had to be asked to stop at a time limit. The self-proclaimed unlucky people spent much less time trying. Unlucky people just gave up on their own while the lucky people showed more determination in the face of unlikely odds.

Openness

On the counting newspaper photos test, the people who considered themselves unlucky took about two minutes to find the photos while the lucky people were able to complete the tasks in seconds. The difference? On the second page of the newspaper, there was a giant ad that said, “Stop Counting. There are 43 photos in this newspaper.” Lucky people were much more likely to see this shortcut than unlucky people.

Wiseman theorized that those who considered themselves lucky were more likely to keep their eyes open for the shortcut because they exhibited the “Openness” personality trait.

Psychology researchers have used the Big Five personality traits to study human behavior for decades over thousands of studies. “Openness” or “Open to New Experience” is one of those five personality traits. Wiseman’s data showed that those high on the Openness scale correlated with those who consider themselves lucky.

Can You Change Personality Traits?

Lucky people are optimistic, resilient, and open. But if you want to be more lucky, can you change your level of optimism, resilience and openness? The answer to all three is yes!

Below is a brief overview of the techniques to change your level of openness. For a comprehensive exploration of the stories and strategies to affect resilience, optimism and openness, keep an eye out for my upcoming book, Outsmart the Learning Curve.

I aggregated these tips to increase Openness from a study out of the University of Zurich along with some points from Wiseman.

1. Raise awareness between your current and desired level of Openness. A great first step to raising your awareness might be taking an online Big Five personality test to understand your starting point and then rereading this newsletter.
2. Build on existing strengths. Even if you're not consistently open, noticing areas where you are (like trying new recipes or travel) can help you expand that openness to other domains.
3. Reflect on beliefs or motives that could inhibit Openness. Think about why your level of Openness is lower than you’d like. Was it part of your upbringing or influence from a parent or other important person in your life?
4. Practice open behaviors. By practicing these behaviors, you can change your outlook on life.

• Taking different routes to work every day.
• Saying “yes” to new opportunities or invitations you’d normally say no to.
• Trying new experiences outside your comfort zone such as a class on an unfamiliar topic.
• Seeking out new types of people you wouldn’t normally interact with.

If you want to boost your own luck, all it takes is a little shift in the way you think. Start small by taking a different route to work or the grocery store and build from there.

Do you consider yourself lucky or unlucky? What techniques have you used to cultivate more optimism, resilience, and openness in your own life?

Please answer in the Comments to share your knowledge with the rest of us!