Make Your Own Luck!

Photo from: http://www.gptx.org/When I was doing my degree in psychology I did a research paper on happiness. I decided on this topic because I was curious about what factors played into one person's happiness when, given the same circumstances, another person would be miserable. What it all boiled down to, no surprise really, is our feelings of control over our world. The person who feels that they have no control over what happens, that external events are affecting them and all they can do is react, are unhappy. These are the same people that don't feel that their actions are the cause of the good things that happen in their lives either. They feel as if everything is completely left to something external; to luck if you will. The people that are able to recognize their part in life's ups and downs, know that they can affect outcomes. They know that when they set an intention to accomplish something there are positive results; that when some event that feels 'bad' happens they get to choose how to respond to it.Richard Wiseman, Ph.D., a psychologist from the University of Hertfordshire and author of The Luck Factor, says "... luck is determined by your attitude toward life, by what you put out into the universe and how you respond to the results." Carol Sansone, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Utah, agrees: "What appears to be luck is really the result of perceptions, personality traits, choices, and actions. And all of that is within your control."If you want more happiness in your life, you literally have to choose it. And the same goes for luck. You get to choose whether to perceive events happening in your life as lucky or unlucky. You are the only one who has control over your perceptions, your reactions. So ask yourself, do you feel lucky today?