Are You Feeling Lucky?

So, did you hear about the Canadian man who played the lottery and missed the jackpot by seven seconds? You could say that he was very unlucky. He bought two tickets for the weekly lottery draw in 2008, but his winning numbers were printed seven seconds after the deadline. He argued that he should be eligible for the winnings because he bought both tickets before the cut-off. If he had won the case, he would have split the $27 million (Canadian) winnings. He was really down on his luck in that he spent $100,000 for legal fees to defend his case, and lost.

Many people believe they can influence the outcome of a game of chance by carrying a good luck charm such as a lucky hat, a horseshoe, or four-leaf clovers. Or they believe they can influence an outcome by performing certain rituals such as tossing coins into a fountain or blowing on dice before a roll.

Being a little superstitious can help us. It is human nature to want to control an outcome. We all want to have some control over our lives and future. Believing in luck may be delusional, but it can increase self-confidence, which can improve performance.

Richard Wiseman, a professor at the University of Hertfordshire, and author of The Luck Factor, believes that lucky people are unconsciously using principles to create good fortune in their lives. He believes that lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing and acting upon chance opportunities. They make effective decisions by listening to their intuition. They expect good fortune and these expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They often turn bad luck to good by not dwelling on bad fortune. Additionally, lucky people use body language and facial expressions that other people find attractive. They smile twice as much, engage in more eye contact, and have more friends.

But too much reliance on superstition, or chance, can be hurtful. For example, people who engage in problematic gambling are more likely to rely on good luck charms and rituals. They are more likely to be unable to resist impulses to gamble and are unable to stop even when losing, which can lead to financial disaster. Gamblers are more likely to choose immediate reward and are more susceptible to various errors in reasoning. A study at the University of Cambridge showed that gamblers acted especially impulsively during high or low moods, which can trigger gambling sprees.

Luck is not a substitute for good judgment. Wiseman’s study showed that feeling lucky doesn’t change the laws of probability. Luck is not a magical gift from the gods. It is a mind-set, a way of perceiving life.