View Full Version : feeling unlucky ?
intresting article here about why some people seem to be luckier then others and why the luck just wont break for some and how you can reverse your ill fortunes apparently :shrug:
Why do some people get all the luck while others never get the breaks they deserve? A psychologist says he has discovered the answer.
Ten years ago, I set out to examine luck.
I wanted to know why some people are always in the right place at the right time, while others consistently experience ill fortune.
I placed advertisements in national newspapers asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me.
The results reveal that although these people have almost no insight into the causes of their luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their good and bad fortune.
article continued in the link below
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3335275.stm
intresting article here about why some people seem to be luckier then others and why the luck just wont break for some and how you can reverse your ill fortunes apparently :shrug:
Luck isn't just a matter of "good fortune", everyone has that, but it's a matter of *realising* it and being willing and able to *do* something about it.
Some time ago, purely by chance, I overheard a conversation in a shop that related to my business, so I took the opportunity to introduce myself to the speakers and, from that, generated a new business contact and the chance for new profits.
Had I been an "unlucky" type, I might have ignored it or prevaricated until the opportunity was lost and then bitched about my "bad luck".
Overhearing the conversation was "lucky", exploiting it after wasn't.
Luck isn't just a matter of "good fortune", everyone has that, but it's a matter of *realising* it and being willing and able to *do* something about it.
Some time ago, purely by chance, I overheard a conversation in a shop that related to my business, so I took the opportunity to introduce myself to the speakers and, from that, generated a new business contact and the chance for new profits.
Had I been an "unlucky" type, I might have ignored it or prevaricated until the opportunity was lost and then bitched about my "bad luck".
Overhearing the conversation was "lucky", exploiting it after wasn't.
Heh, don't you sell kinky leather bondage gear? Probably not something you'd hear about in your local Tesco's all that often ;)
Luck is a fallacy - IMO opportunites are given to us, it's just up to us to see them and act on them.
It's also down to interpritation - I used to work with a guy who fell off the roof of his house. Was he lucky to only sustain cuts and bruises or unlucky to have slipped and fallen?
Hmmmm....sometimes a series of what seems like bad luck can actually work out for the best in the end. You are suddenly in a position to exploit something that , if you hadn't had the bad luck previously, you wouldn't have been able to take advantage of. Thats happened a couple of times to me and resulted in beneficial life changing happenings. :)
Sociable
29-12-2003, 14:09
It's often about a willingness to take risks too.
Fear of failure will often block the way, "No point in doing that it won't work for me", leads to not trying at all and thus it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
Those with a positive outlook tend to assume things at least have a fair chance of sucess so give it a fair try. They don't always succeed but do so more often than those that don't try at all.
When considering if they are "lucky" they will say yes because, even though they have had failures they do not dwell on them, but focus on the positives instead.
The expression "Fake it till you make it" wasn't written with this is mind but would seem to have a use for those wishing to change their stars. :)
Luck isn't just a matter of "good fortune", everyone has that
not everyone people do have times where luck can ultimately run against you in any circumstance
but it's a matter of *realising* it and being willing and able to *do* something about it.
but what happens when you try and a force a change in your luck from a negative to a positive and still fail surely that would mean you are bad luck if it consistantly happend
Some time ago, purely by chance, I overheard a conversation in a shop that related to my business, so I took the opportunity to introduce myself to the speakers and, from that, generated a new business contact and the chance for new profits.
that was your bit of luck
Had I been an "unlucky" type, I might have ignored it or prevaricated until the opportunity was lost and then bitched about my "bad luck".
if you ignored it you 'choose' to do that it might be in your demeanor not to impose yourself and eavesdrop on private conversations
Sociable
29-12-2003, 16:44
OK Consider this then Kronas.
You want to test if you are "Lucky".
To consider yourself lucky you must throw two heads in row without throwing a tail.
If you decide in advance I'm not lucky and don't want run the risk of failure you may not toss the coin at all giving a 100% chance of not suceeding.
Be brave and toss the coin and you have a chance of success even if you have to try a few times before you get the right result.
Life is like that the trick is to learn not to fear failure.
I used to be in sales and learned to say thank you to the 9th person to turn me down as i knew 1 in 10 would buy. My reaction often ended up converting the 9th to a sale too as they would ask me why I was so happy and thanking them for saying no. LOL
Heh, don't you sell kinky leather bondage gear?
Yep.
Probably not something you'd hear about in your local Tesco's all that often ;)
"All that often"? No.
But "Never..."?!?! :naughty: :naughty:
It's also down to interpritation - I used to work with a guy who fell off the roof of his house. Was he lucky to only sustain cuts and bruises or unlucky to have slipped and fallen?
Or lucky that his carelessness or lack of safety precautions didn't have a more serious outcome??
Or possibly unlucky that the harness he was using snapped?
You see? Luck IMO is a fallacy. There are just opportunities.
Luck isn't just a matter of "good fortune", everyone has that
not everyone people do have times where luck can ultimately run against you in any circumstance
Of course, I don't deny that.
As far as I'm concenred the most basic rule of the universe is "S$$t happens". The question is what do you do then? Just complain? Or sell it as manure?!
"If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!"
but what happens when you try and a force a change in your luck from a negative to a positive and still fail surely that would mean you are bad luck if it consistantly happend
It's only bad luck when you stop trying.
if you ignored it you 'choose' to do that it might be in your demeanor not to impose yourself and eavesdrop on private conversations
I wasn't deliberately "eavesdropping" ie trying to earwig on someone else's private conversation, just a few words happen to be said that reached my ears.
If you miss the opportunity it's nobody's fault but your own.
Or possibly unlucky that the harness he was using snapped?
A properly designed and maintained and worn (on the body, not "worn out") harness doesn't "just snap".
If someone relies on "luck" that it won't "just snap", it's nobody's fault but theirs.
Lottery winners are described as 'lucky' - again, rubbish. Someone has to win.
A properly designed and maintained and worn (on the body, not "worn out") harness doesn't "just snap".
As you nor I were there when happened we don't know the ins and outs but it's a perfect example of a subjective scenario.
Lottery winners are described as 'lucky' - again, rubbish. Someone has to win.
Not if it's the UK's National Lottery!! (A tax on those who don't understand statistics!)
Dave Stones
29-12-2003, 20:04
15 million to one! how can i not lose!! :erm:
:notopic:i wonder if any £15mill ion-aires would be willing to spend 15 million on all the combinations if the rollover was something like £40 million...
i dont really believe in luck either...
Graham, do you believe in this thing called 'luck' anyway?
Isn't it the case that you can " make " your own luck though?
Sociable
29-12-2003, 20:15
Isn't it the case that you can " make " your own luck though?
Most certainly is.
Positive people focus on the goal and move towards it, negative people focus on the problems and move towards those.
This actually links to the other thread about learning as children can teach us a lot with the way they embrace new technology. They learn fast because they are not affraid of making mistakes and just dive in regardless.
EDIT: Just remebered another factor in "Luck" which is the effort one puts into achieving ones goals. The old quote from Arnold Palmer on being told he was "a lucky golfer" still applies. His response was, "Funny thing is the harder I practice the luckier I get".
Set realistic goals and be prepared to work for them, and yes sometimes make sacrifices too, and you will make your own luck.
I disagree - we neither make nor control luck. I'm not trying to give this a religious spin but irregardless whether you believe in any kind of higher power, there is certainly something bigger and greater than us controlling what people call 'luck'.
OK - Winning the lottery - I go and buy a lucky dip ticket, the guy behind me in the store buys a lucky dip ticket. He wins £100000 0 I win diddly squat. I'd say he'd been pretty darn lucky. :)
Sociable
29-12-2003, 20:47
Ahh Russ but the essence of "free will" is that the individual is presented with choices and therefore plays a part in how any greater plan pans out. To ignore the part we each play in how we ourselves shape our lives is to totally abrigate any personal responsibility.
You see? Luck IMO is a fallacy. There are just opportunities.
In that case, opportunities for sudden death........
Graham, do you believe in this thing called 'luck' anyway?
Hmm, "believe"? As in "belief"??
I think I've made my opinions on that clear in the past! :angel:
i dont know where i stand on this really i believe some are just luckier then others maybe the outcome of there actions may have an impact on there future decisions whether they be positive or negative
you may push oneway or the other way but if you keep going at it and fail by a huge margin of errors and recieve a good break finally it still begs the question of why some are luckier then others :shrug:
Hmm, "believe"? As in "belief"??
I think I've made my opinions on that clear in the past! :angel:
Um...the word I used was 'believe'.....
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