How to Get Lucky

Kate Rockwood

1 When Anna Z. moved to Chicago, she joined a group for Arabic speakers. "I love trying new things," she explains. "I saw this group and thought, Why not?" As luck would have it, the organizer grew up in Fez, Morocco, where Anna had lived when she was learning the language. Today they're married with a little boy.

2 Some people might say that fate led Anna to her future husband. But Anna's openness to life's multiple possibilities put her in the right place at the right time. Luck isn't some mysterious force. ^££To a very large extent, we are responsible for much of the good fortune that we encounter," says Richard Wiseman, PhD, a professor of psychology and the author of The Luck Factor. Here, some of the traits that separate fortunate folks from the self-proclaimed unlucky.

3 Expect Good Things

When people feel lucky, it tips the scales of fortune in their favor. ^££Their expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies," says Wiseman. Researchers at New York University discovered that students who believed that they would get a date were significantly more likely to win over the object of their desire. The simple explanation: self-assurance. If you believe that you'll do well, you'll be more motivated. Feeling lucky might even help you win a prize at a charity dinner. The more optimistic you are about your chances, the more raffle tickets you'll probably buy Not an optimist by nature? Lucky charms can work by boosting confidence. In a 2010 German study, superstitious subjects played a memory game; people who used talismans scored higher than those who didn't.

4 Court Chance

Lucky people cultivate lots of friends and acquaintances. In one study, Wiseman showed participants a list of last names and asked them to indicate if they were on a first-name basis with at least one person with each surname. Of subjects who considered themselves lucky, nearly 50 percent ticked eight names or more. Only 25 percent of unlucky people could. "Lucky people talk to lots of people, attract people to them, and keep in touch," Wiseman says. "These habits result in a 'network of luck,' creating potential for accidental connections."

5 Colleen Seifert, PhD, a cognitive scientist at the University of Michigan, advises getting out of an everyday rut: attend a conference, work a political fundraiser, or sign up for scuba lessons. "Throwing a little chaos into your life opens you up to a chance encounter," she says. That person could end up being your soul mate, business partner—or someone you chat with for five minutes and never see again. The goal is to stay open to possibilities.

6 Look for Silver Linings

Finding value in bad luck can help your brain process situations differently, according to Tania Luna, co-author of Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected. Luna showed kids emotionally intense images—like a boy crying—while measuring activity in their brains. Then she showed them again with a reassuring explanation, like "This boy has just been reunited with his mom." Their brains showed a dramatic drop in activity in the amygdala, which processes fear. Lucky people are similarly able to transform a stumbling block into a positive event, which helps them keep taking chances. Face your next setback with these questions: What have I learned? What do I want now? How can I get it?

7 Trust Your Gut

Elizabeth B. will never forget her luckiest moment: She was driving to New York from Pennsylvania when something told her to buy a lottery ticket. After she pulled over, a terrible accident occurred: "A pickup crossed into my lane and crashed into a guardrail. If I hadn't stopped, my car would have been totaled." Maybe Elizabeth's short stop was an accidental good fortune. Or maybe her intuition had warned her to get away from an unpredictable driver. She can't be sure. But we process far more visual information and sensory details than we consciously realize, which can lead to instincts we can't explain.

8 In a British study, subjects played a game with cards from four decks while their heart rates were monitored. Folks didn't know the game was rigged: Two decks were stacked with high-value cards, two with bad cards. The players' heart rates dipped when they went near the high-value decks—their bodies had identified the difference before their minds were aware. So trust your instincts. Lucky people are more apt to do things to tune in to their inner voice, like meditating and taking walks.

(Adapted from Readers Digest, February 2016: P35)