Are you lucky like the Ferns?

Last week we ran a poll on Facebook to see whether a good day at work could compare with a great day with your family. Although the majority (88%) voted for family, it turns out, for some people at least, a great day at work definitely makes them feel good.

At Pinnacle Life those of us with kids especially liked the comment, ‘depends how well the kids are behaving’. Isn’t that just so true? In comparison, a great day at work might depend on how well ‘behaved’ your boss is…

There’s a difference between feeling lucky and luck. Luck is when things happen by chance and not as a result of your own efforts or abilities. When we say we ’feel lucky’ we could also say we feel ‘fortunate’ or ‘blessed’, it’s not necessarily related to any one thing but more of a feeling or sense of gratitude and well-being.

When we experience bad luck it can feel like we’re having a bad run. How we respond can shape our reaction. No-one actually has more or less luck than someone else. It can just feel that way sometimes!

If you’re struggling to feel lucky, there are some things you can do to ‘change your luck’.

1. Stop believing things are out of your control. When we think we can’t change what’s happening in our lives, we tend to hope for the best or submit to whatever’s happening. But if we believe that what happens in our lives is up to us, we are more engaged, pro-active and ready to try new things, including changing the things in our lives that we don’t like.
2. Stay focused on where you want to go. The more we think about what’s going wrong in our lives, the more it becomes overwhelming and hard to change. We start to ONLY notice the things that are going wrong and gloss over the things that are going well. If we can review what’s happening objectively and focus on where we’re trying to get to, the pitfalls and roadblocks just become part of the journey, not the endpoint.

It would be interesting to talk to the Silver Ferns about luck following their win last week at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool. In the last few years when things haven’t gone so well, it was probably easy to lay blame on luck or on management or on other team members. At times it must have felt impossible to turn around. But ultimately the Silver Ferns didn’t rely on their luck to change in order to clinch a win. Shear hard work, sweat, tears and a focus on the end goal from the players, coaches and management turned around their results.

The Ferns are probably ‘feeling lucky’ this week. They certainly deserve it. They’re a great example of how you can change your luck by believing you’re in control and focusing on what you want to achieve.

Getting in the habit of thinking proactively and positively also goes a long way towards our mental health. Working out what makes us feel fortunate or ‘lucky’ and spending time on those things, whether its work, family, friends or sport, is a great way to feel in control and positive about your life. Don’t leave it to luck, just get on and work out what you need to do to feel lucky.

Image credit: silverferns.co.nz, Michael Bradley Photography