Leave Room for Luck

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and to many of us that is synonymous with luck: shamrocks, pots of gold, Leprechauns...yes this fine Irish holiday had us thinking about luck.

Most of us seem to have a love-hate relationship with luck.  On one hand we hope and wish for it, we buy lottery tickets and we encourage it with any number of ‘lucky charms’.  On the other hand, we resent it for not showing up when we want it to, and we bemoan the fact that we just do not have any of it.   Oh, how we want to believe, but simply are afraid to trust luck.

Due to my higher education in psychology, I developed a rather dysfunctional relationship with luck.  I turned my back on it due to the many research studies that suggested that women discount their successes claiming it was all down to ‘luck’.  I was not about to write off any of my accomplishments or hard work as ‘luck’.  No, I simply was not going to let luck have the glory.   

Well, being older and wiser now, I have come to realise that accepting luck does not mean you are not deserving of your success.  In fact I now believe that luck plays a very big part in success.  

So what do we need to do to take full advantage of luck?  Well we need to be open to luck or if you prefer to call it, opportunity, and be willing to accept the possibility of luck, it can be quite the gift.  Luck can be that unexpected turn of events that lands you exactly in the right spot at the right time.  Luck can be getting stuck behind a slow driver, much to your frustration, but maybe to realise that two minutes earlier would have put you in the place of the accident you just passed.  Coincidence?  Maybe, probably... or you could think of it as luck.

If you want to invite luck into your life you have to be ready to embrace the unexpected.  We have a choice; we can see a sudden change of plans as a disruption or we can see it as luck’s divine hand.  Instead of fighting what could be seen as a diversion or detour, ask yourself what could come out of this unexpected turn.  Yes, to embrace luck we must embrace possibility.  Quite often it is after you let go of the plan that your ideas take flight.

So you need to believe in luck, be open to luck, and, oh yes, you need to be prepared for luck.  It’s no use just kicking your shoes off, sitting back, and waiting for that lucky leprechaun to arrive at your door with his (or her) pot of gold.  No, get up and get cracking so that you are ready when hard work meets opportunity.  

There’s one more thing about being ready for luck, you have to be present.  Yes, you have to be out in the field bright and early to spot that four-leaf clover.  We simply can’t sit back in our life bemoaning the ‘fact’ that we never have any luck.  Luck is not going to find us unless we are actively engaged in all of our endeavours.

Since my reconciliation with luck I have come to appreciate two aspects of luck that we rarely think about, and that is gratitude and generosity.  I now accept it with gratitude, whether it is meeting the right person or finding a coin on the street, I simply say a humble ‘thank you’, and I strive to be as generous with luck as I can.  Try giving luck away, it is amazing how lucky passing it on will make you feel.  When you are open to luck, others around you will come to feel lucky as well.   

So as you experience life changes, be willing to accept the possibility of luck.  We need to leave room for luck in our lives as we navigate the twists and turns of our journey.  Luck is a gift, perhaps from the Leprechauns...I’m a believer.

BUILDING SOLUTIONS

•    Think back over the last two weeks and see if you can spot any lucky moments?
•    What negative superstitions do you hold around luck?
•    What good luck could you give to someone else today?

Content provided by Dr Toby Silverton and Dr Bev McLagan of Silverton McLagan Coaching.

ABOUT DR TOBY SILVERTON AND DR BEV MCLAGAN
“I change myself, I change the world.” Gloria Anzaldua
Dr Toby Silverton and Dr Bev McLagan run Silverton McLagan Coaching.  They hold PhDs in Counselling Psychology.  They have more than 25 years clinical experience as counselling psychologists, psychotherapists, personal coaches and educators. They moved to the UK from Vancouver in 2009 and coach clients worldwide in person, by phone and online.  

Dr Toby and Dr Bev offer their own unique blend of psychotherapy and coaching, which they call ‘Psychodynamic Coaching’ and which results in ‘change that lasts a lifetime’.  They specialise in working with Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) - a group that includes creative artists and other professionals, both women and men, who are usually successful and over-stretched perfectionists - helping them to achieve a ‘Living Balance’.

For more information visit www.livethesolution.com