For the month of March, we are focusing on luck and how to experience more “lucky” events regularly. Last week, we talked about creating “luck” by being more organized and thinking ahead. Finding an umbrella in your car when it starts to rain could be considered lucky, but putting it there in the first place shows that you were thinking ahead.
This week, the focus is on finding more luck by increasing our awareness of what’s going on around us. On average, both lucky and those who consider themselves unlucky, are exposed to the same amount of bad and good happenings. Those who feel they are luckier than most tend to seek out rainbows, meaning they are looking for good things to happen or positive experiences to try. Those who focus on their problems and challenges tended to miss these “lucky” breaks.
Try this:
Increasing your awareness isn’t complicated. It can be as easy as stopping for a moment and paying attention to the world around you. What are five things you can see? What are three things you can smell? What are four things you can hear? What are two things you can feel? How are you feeling in the moment?
This exercise, often called grounding, can immediately relieve stress, calm anxiety, and bring greater focus. And, you might spot something that feels lucky, like finding a lost sock or even spotting a rainbow.
Storytime:
Even at the best of times, I tend to be hyper-focused on whatever task I’m working on or a challenge I’m trying to solve. This means I often miss out on opportunities and experiences because I didn’t notice them until too late. On days where I work to be more mindful, I get just as much done, but I also tend to find more creative solutions to problems. On these days, I keep my eyes and heart open for opportunities that on most days I might pass up because I feel I’m too busy to even look.
