wrote for luck
Golf legend and (it has to be pointed out) style icon, Gary Player famously said, in response to a call from the crowd speculating that his near perfect drive was a lucky shot, 'yeah, and the more i practice the luckier I get'.
The interesting thing about that quote is how - in the pressure situation of a masters golf tournament - GP felt relaxed enough to respond in a cool way with some style and wit.
No-one got a 4 wood wrapped round their neck.
Why is it some people seem to be more lucky than others?
Perhaps it's skill rather than pure chance.
Richard Wiseman in this old article from the Telegraph certainly subscribes to that view.
'My research revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four basic 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.'
In a nutshell the key to good fortune is about relaxation, being open to the unexpected, trusting your gut and being alert to opportunities as they arise.
As a youngster I let many opportunities pass by, principally due to being erm, let's say 'distracted'. As i've got older and more mindful I'm finding that my 'luck' has tended to improve.
Here's Wisemans 3 techniques to develop which will maximise good fortune:
1 - Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation. I think this helps them because gut feelings act as an alarm bell - a reason to consider a decision carefully.
2 - Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. They tend to take the same route to and from work and talk to the same types of people at parties. In contrast, many lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. For example, one person described how he thought of a colour before arriving at a party and then introduced
himself to people wearing that colour. This kind of behaviour boosts the likelihood of chance opportunities by introducing variety.
3 - Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune. They imagine how things could have been worse. In one interview, a lucky volunteer arrived with his leg in a plaster cast and described how he had fallen down a flight of stairs. I asked him whether he still felt lucky and he cheerfully explained that he felt luckier than before. As he pointed out, he could have broken his neck.
Props to Buddhajones.
