Q: My brother is the lucky one. No matter what he does or tries, things seem to work out for him. Why is it that some people are luckier than others?
A: To suggest that your brother is luckier than other people is to imply that somehow the gods smile on him more favourably than they do to anyone else. Perhaps they do.
People who appear to be lucky share characteristics that might give them more control over their fate.
Dr. Richard Wiseman, a British psychologist who studied lucky people, tells us lucky people share some traits. First, they recognize opportunities that are there for them.
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How often have you thought how much better your life would have been if only 20 years ago you would have bought the land just down the road? Lucky people do not regret missing a good land deal. Why would they? They have already bought it and have taken advantage of opportunities that most of us don’t see.
Lucky people are also willing to take chances and listen to their intuition. Most of us struggle to build safe and secure lives, to ensure that our homes are financially sound. Lucky people are not as committed to security. They are prepared to risk their well-being on the basis of a hunch.
Of course, not all of their hunches turn out successfully, but enough are for them to remain confident in their intuition.
Lucky people are also able to see opportunities in difficult times. In the middle of a drought, the lucky ones are running through fields capturing grasshoppers to sell as delicacies to overseas markets. I am exaggerating, of course, but only to illustrate how such people operate.
Lucky people have an optimistic view of life. They not only believe that things will get better, they believe that they will fall into the hands of good fortune somewhere along the way. In many ways their expectations for success become self-fulfilling prophecies.
Because they are optimistic about their future, lucky people tend to have more enjoyable relationships with other people. They are more fun to have around.
That sets the tone for positive and enjoyable interpersonal relations, and what could be more rewarding for lucky people than an army of good friends?
The truth is that lucky people have a lot more control over their lives than the mysterious fates. I am reminded of that Shakespearian line from Julius Caesar: “The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in the stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan who has taught social work at two universities. Mail correspondence in care of Western Producer, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or e-mail jandrews@producer.com.
