A friend changed the lunch venue on me the other day from a restaurant I knew well to one I didn’t. Not wanting to struggle with maps and downtown traffic, I suggested we postpone but my friend insisted. So, though I was reluctant, I wended my way along an unfamiliar route to find myself at an elegant location where the food was scrumptious. Having stretched my comfort zone a little, some might say I got lucky.
Feeling lucky is as much an attitude as it is a result, research shows. James Costello was a man badly burned where he stood near the finish line during the bomb attack at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. He ended up in a rehabilitation hospital and there he met a nurse who became his best friend and the love of his life. Today, he considers the result of the bombing a stroke of luck. (The Week, December 27, 2013, pg. 2)
Dr. Richard Wiseman, professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, England wouldn’t be surprised by Costello’s response to what began as a disastrous event. To feel lucky, he says, requires that we show a willingness to mine something positive even from a negative. Doing so makes us smarter, stronger and clearer about the future. (“Get Luckier in 2014 by Betsy Rapaport, Good Housekeeping, January 2014, pg. 90)
Most of us don’t require James Costello’s courage. But Wiseman assures us, “the more you attend events where you don’t know a soul, dare to travel by yourself, or simply talk to a stranger in a coffee line, the luckier you’ll be.” (Ibid, pg. 90.) Reaching beyond your comfort zone exposes you to opportunities which, given the odds, are likely to improve your existence. Or, as life coach Brian Tracy observed, “If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.”
(Originally posted 1/24/14)
(Courtesy of www.sodahead.com)
