My 1 Hard, Fast Rule About Luck

Rule: Don’t name anything as unlucky.

Once we start looking for and noticing luck in our lives, it’s tempting to also name things that feel unlucky.

Labeling things as lucky is different than judging them as unlucky. One keeps the story open and flowing, the other shuts the story down.

Naming things as unlucky is not helpful.

It narrows our focus.

Remember that part of being lucky is broadening our right-brain awareness. We want to stay open, alert and aware.

Naming something unlucky does the opposite. It narrows us, focusing our attention on the “unlucky” situation.

It puts our attention on the problem.

Yes, we do need to attend to problems in our lives, but we want to do that with a goal of seeking a solution. In order to find solutions, we need to broaden our attention and not only focus on the problem.

When we become so focused on the problem our attention closes in and we’re not keeping our broad, right-brained attention that may lead to solutions.

It makes us feel that things/life/the universe/God is against us.

When we label something as unlucky, we’re saying that something happened that was out of our control.

It’s true that many things are out of our control, but consistently labeling bad things as unlucky, makes us feel that life is against us. It’s not a helpful thought pattern. This mindset narrows what’s possible.

It closes the story prematurely.

Once we label something unlucky, it feels that chapter has closed. We know the “reason” for the event, we’ve labeled it and focused on the problem.

But the good part is just around the corner. This is where resilience kicks in and our story takes off.

Think of a novel or movie. Often the story starts with the character experiencing a string of bad luck. If the storyteller labeled it bad luck and only focused on the problem, the story would end before the real magic happens.

Instead, we can think:

This happened, now what?

How will I proceed?

What will be required of me to grow through this?

What resources and people do I have around me to help in this situation? I’m so lucky to have them!

Take Away

Label things as lucky and appreciate them in the moment.

But resist labeling things as unlucky.

Stay open and curious!