I started reading about how to be lucky

I know that logically, it doesn’t make much sense to wonder about how to be luckier. It’s all random, right? At the same time, I’ve always considered myself an extraordinarily lucky person. 

How I Know I’m Lucky: 3 Examples

1. I got a full ride plus a fellowship stipend to get my MFA in creative writing at the University of Arizona, so I moved across the country to Tucson. But a couple of weeks before the semester started, I had an unexpected bill for out-of-state tuition fees. I didn’t have enough money to cover it. I didn’t even have a credit card to put it on.

Well. You know the Monopoly card, “bank error in your favor”? Somehow, when I deposited my stipend check, the bank credited it twice.  It was the exact amount of money I needed to pay the unexpected bill, plus a little left over for food and rent.

If this happened to me today, I would call the bank and tell them there had been a mistake. But I was young and flaky, and I just thought, Yay! There’s my grad school money! And that was that.

2. I’ve blogged about this before, but within a few months of parting ways with the Hallmark Channel, I got a literary agent and a two-book deal from a dream publisher…because I happened to hear about opportunities, and responded to them on a whim.

3. A handful of years back, I made a list of 100 life goals, just for fun. I was running out of ideas near the end, and I wrote something crazy: “be a guest on a national talk show.” Needless to say, there was no reason anyone would have me on a talk show. 

In less than a year, I was on a nationally broadcast morning show. Another guest was Scott Kelly, the astronaut brother of former astronaut and U.S. senator Mark Kelly. The hosts of the show baked the delicious muffins based on the recipe in my clean and wholesome romance, Sunrise Cabin, and we ate them and chatted.

I have a lot of other examples like this. Whether or not I believe in manifestation, it often seems like manifestation believes in me. So what’s going on here?

What Science Says About How to Be Lucky

Get this: more than one study has shown that people who think they are lucky have better luck.

Some people would say this is the Law of Attraction at work, but scientists would point to more rational explanations. These studies show that people who think they are lucky are more likely to notice good things in their path.  People who think they are lucky are also more likely to try things, because they can envision positive outcomes.

I got both my agent and my book deal through last-minute opportunities. I could’ve told myself that when a publisher says they’re looking for “fresh voices,” they don’t mean someone over 50. I could’ve told myself I would wait until I was better prepared. I could’ve reminded myself that when I shoot my shot, I almost always miss. But every time, I shoot my shot, anyway.

I could tell stories about myself that would make me seem like a very unlucky person. A few of them are ugly stories that would require trigger warnings. But I choose not to focus on those.

More Thoughts on How to Be Luckier

I do a spiritual ritual every morning. I’ve been doing it for the past 14 years. It begins with me saying thank you for so many of the things I am grateful for. It’s so easy to take huge blessings for granted. Family members, friends, pets. A safe, warm place to live. Plenty of food and clean water. Hot water. Electricity. Being cancer-free. When I’m saying thank you every morning, I include things like this. 

One of the reasons I loved writing the character of Griffin in Her Knight at the Museum is that when he comes to life again, he takes nothing for granted. He’s excited about the blue sky above and the air in his lungs. This is so near and dear to my heart. Gratitude makes you happier, and it makes you feel lucky. 

I think positivity gets a bad rap lately, as if all positivity is “toxic positivity.” There’s a difference between looking for the silver lining and denying the existence of clouds. Sometimes we can recognize that a situation is tough and still see a glimmer of hope, a blessing in disguise, or a new opportunity.

Since people who believe they’re lucky have been proven to be luckier, I think good luck charms are likely to be effective. It might be a piece of jewelry, an article of clothing, or omething carried in a pocket or a purse. It could be a certain meal or some kind of tradition. For instance, like many people, I say “rabbit rabbit” at the beginning of every month, before I say anything else, for good luck.

It could be an object in a certain place—such a horseshoe hung near a door, fuzzy dice hanging from a rear view mirror in a car, or bamboo placed in the southeast corner of your home. (Yes, I wrote the entry for feng shui for Encyclopedia Brittanica.)

No matter what you choose, these good luck charms can be tangible reinforcements of the idea that you’re a lucky person.