32. Feeling Lucky and Being Lucky
If there is no pre destiny and no life referee, then logically, there is no such thing as luck. But there is more to it than that. We all know that some people seem ‘lucky’ and also we know that at times we can feel ‘lucky’.
Of course the randomness of events means that a statistically unlikely bad thing can happen to you for example an accident or illness and if you define that as ‘bad luck’ then nobody is immune from that.
The question is how can we raise the odds of feeling and enjoying generally ‘good luck’ ?
Firstly you can feel lucky by truly appreciating and feeling grateful for all the good in your life and not dwelling on the elements you would like to change i.e. thinking positive. Conversely if you are feeling ungrateful then this negative emotion and negative energy will attract more of everything you do not like or are dissatisfied with.
Secondly you can definitely make your own luck by unconditionally giving out love and positive energy, and building a network of friends, supporters and allies who will look after you when they get the choice and chance. You make your own luck in this life everyday and this is largely through how you treat and deal with other people. All human interactions can lead to other things for you, often in the future, in ways you can never predict or imagine. But people need to like you and feel you are someone they could work or play with and can trust. For a successful life work on the principle that you are never in an anonymous situation and behave accordingly, and that it is a small world and everyone knows everybody else directly or indirectly. Clearly they do not but there are far more unknown connections that are invisible to you than you would ever imagine.
Thirdly, the saying that ‘the more I practise the luckier I get’ is absolutely true. Another way this is expressed is that ‘Luck is preparation meeting opportunity’. If you decide what you want in life and work and prepare for it, when events occur that can potentially be a step towards that goal you are ready to seize that chance. People who have already thought about what they want and studied their options can recognise a good tactical card when it is dealt to them and act decisively. Sadly some people are not clear about what they want, and are fearful of making decisions and as a result allow good cards to slip through their fingers. Almost everybody can think of an example of an opportunity that they passed up and subsequently regret.
As you get older you will find that you regret what you do not do, and very rarely what you do. You regret the decisions that you did not make, not those that you did.
You must always of course have no expectations and having done the work and preparation let go of the outcome. Remember it was always the preparation (the effort) that was the result, and not the outcome. So when the planned for ‘break’ does not come, you can still feel lucky, and so often in life something else good happens instead if you are open and flexible and not rigid. Life is as it is and is not following a plan that is in your mind.