[This is the final in a series by guest blogger Ali Davis]
I have now spent a full 30 days getting lucky. And, yes, that sentence is just as much fun to type as you think it is.
Like Dr. Wiseman’s test cases in The Luck Factor, I filled out the life satisfaction and luck profile questionnaires again, with interesting results: I had improved in almost every area. I managed to chin myself up from low life satisfaction to medium, and made satisfying gains in my scores in three of Wiseman’s four main principles: maximizing chance opportunities, listening to my hunches, and turning bad luck into good.
But what was even more interesting was that I was surprised that I hadn’t improved more. When I thought about it, I realized I had been cocksure about zooming ahead because I was having a good time. Wiseman gives you plenty of tasks, but they’re hardly chores. Even the one that was initially the hardest for me, striking up conversations with strangers, has gotten easier and even—dare I say it?—sometimes enjoyable.
I was surprised at how quickly I internalized some of the principles. I now get restless if I go several days without deliberately breaking up my routine, and as I went through my luck journal I realized that I wasn’t thinking of successes and defeats, but of successes and initial defeats. And that seems to be the main habit of the truly lucky: they don’t see bad events as endings, but as bumps along the way to eventual success. Just changing your narrative is surprisingly useful in keeping you going.
In the end, I’m glad that there’s room for improvement in my luck profile. A lot of the process of improving my scores even this far has involved approaching life in a positive and playful way, which turns out to be fun. If there are more jollies to be had while boosting my numbers even further, hell, sign me up for the extra credit work.
And if I happen to stumble into wealth, true love, and happiness along the way?
Well, that’d be just my luck.
Photo credit: fujin on Flickr.
Wonderful Series! Thanks for sharing!