Do you ever feel that some people always seem to be incredibly lucky? It’s like they have a secret charm that effortlessly draws helpful people their way, find money lying around as if it’s a treasure hunt, or spot business opportunities with a sixth sense! How on earth do they do it? Is there a secret recipe for summoning good luck? Well, here’s where it gets really exciting: the interesting research by British psychologist Richard Wiseman reveals that some luck is not just a random roll of the dice. It’s actually possible to attract good luck through some techniques and behaviors. Now let’s unlock the secrets and explore the mystical forces that beckon luck our way!
Wiseman recruited hundreds of self-proclaimed lucky and unlucky participants. In the first experiment, these people were given a newspaper and asked to count the number of photos inside within a very short time. Interestingly, those who considered themselves lucky gave the correct answer within seconds, while those who considered themselves unlucky took as long as two minutes. Did the lucky ones really have the favor of luck on their side? Not exactly. The real reason is that there was a huge message placed on the second page of the newspaper, taking up half a page, boldly stating, “STOP COUNTING-THERE ARE 43 PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS NEWSPAPER.” Yet many of the self-proclaimed unlucky individuals just overlooked this message. To add more excitement, another big message was strategically placed in the middle of the newspaper, proclaiming, “STOP COUNTING, TELL THE EXPERIMENTER YOU HAVE SEEN THIS AND WIN £100.” Surprisingly, the majority of self-proclaimed unlucky folks missed this opportunity as well because they were too focused on the task of counting photos. This result echos the classic ‘Invisible Gorilla’ experiment conducted at Harvard University in 1999. In this experiment, psychologists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons divided six people into two teams, one wearing white shirts and the other wearing black shirts. The six people passed a basketball to each other and the entire process was recorded. In this 36-second video, a person dressed in a gorilla suit casually walked into the group, pounded his chest, and stayed for about 9 seconds. Chabris and Simons then showed this video to some Harvard students, who were asked to count the number of times the ball was passed. Many students answered correctly. However, the astonishing thing is that when asked whether they saw a gorilla in the video, half of the students said no! In fact, when I was studying for my MBA at Duke University, our professor also showed us the same video and the result was very similar, and I, too, was one of those who did not see the gorilla. This experiment proves how our brains can be manipulated — when we become overly focused on something, it is easy to ignore other things around us. Wiseman extended this idea to the study of luck — people who consider themselves unlucky tend to be more anxious and nervous, which hampers their ability to seize unexpected opportunities. On the other hand, people who consider themselves lucky, due to their ability to remain relaxed, are more likely to see the bigger picture and notice opportunities.
In another intriguing experiment that Wiseman conducted, he asked participants to look at a list of 15 common surnames and then asked if any of their acquaintances had surnames that matched those on the list. Our intuition might suggest that the chance of having a friend with a surname on the list should be random. However, the results showed that among self-proclaimed lucky individuals, over 50% claimed to have at least 8 friends with surnames matching those on the list. In contrast, among self-proclaimed unlucky individuals, only 25% pointed out that their friends had surnames on the list. If we combine this experiment’s results with Stanley Milgram’s ‘Small World Experiment,’ which demonstrated that any two people in the world are connected by an average of six degrees of separation, it’s not a surprise that people who consider themselves lucky, with their broader social networks, increase their chances of learning new information and are more likely to have lucky encounters in this six-degree-separated world.
Lastly, Wiseman asked the participants to take a personality test. The results showed that self-proclaimed lucky individuals scored significantly higher on the ‘openness’ trait than those who consider themselves unlucky. These lucky individuals enjoy trying new things, embrace changes in life, and seek new experiences, while the unlucky ones prefer following familiar patterns. To observe the impact of these different mindsets on life experiences, Wiseman collaborated with the BBC to conduct a fascinating experiment. They selected one person who considered himself lucky and one person who considered herself unlucky, and made an appointment with these two people to meet with them separately at a café, where hidden cameras were placed all around. The film crew first placed a five-pound note at the entrance of the coffee shop and then set up four tables in the coffee shop, with one fake guest at each table. One of the fake guests was a successful businessman. They wanted to observe the life experiences of these two participants in identical scenarios. When the self-proclaimed lucky person arrived at the café’s entrance, he noticed the money on the ground, picked it up joyfully, ordered a cup of coffee, and sat next to the successful businessman. In no time, he started to introduce himself to the businessman and even bought him a coffee, engaging in a pleasant conversation. On the other hand, when the self-proclaimed unlucky person arrived at the café’s entrance, she didn’t notice the money and simply walked in, ordered a cup of coffee, and coincidentally sat next to the successful businessman as well. However, she quietly drank her coffee, completely oblivious to the opportunities around her. After the filming was completed, Wiseman interviewed these two participants separately. The self-proclaimed lucky person enthusiastically recounted how he luckily found the money and met the successful businessman, engaging in a delightful conversation. In contrast, the self-proclaimed unlucky person described her day as ordinary. Despite being given exactly the same opportunities, the self-proclaimed lucky person was more willing to break from routine, create new experiences, and seize opportunities.
Of course, Wiseman’s research is not about pure random luck, like winning a lottery. The difference is like “Destiny” and “Opportunity” in Monopoly games. “Destiny” is random, but “Opportunity” can be created. His research shows that some luck is not merely a random event; we can attract it by relaxing our mind to see bigger pictures, building a wide social network, and stepping beyond our comfort zones. Now, armed with this knowledge, it’s time for each of us to create our own luck-filled destiny. For me, writing this article is an exciting way to expand my social circle and break away from mundane daily routines. What’s your way to invite good fortune into your life? Share your thoughts, and let’s embark on this luck-seeking adventure together!
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