Do you think that some people are naturally more lucky than others? Do you believe that you are significantly more or less lucky than other people? These are questions that have interested humans for centuries, and certainly, the large number of superstitions, lucky charms and talismans which have prevailed through history in civilisations across the world would suggest that humans have an almost innate belief in the power of luck.  The superstitions we have today have long histories. The number 13 is considered unlucky because that was the number of people at the table at Jesus Christ’s last supper. Touching wood comes from pagan rituals of imbibing the powers of tree Gods. Many people do not walk under ladders. This superstition does not come from the notion that a bucket of paint may drop on your head as you pass underneath.  Rather, the shape of the ladder against the wall forms the shape of a triangle, which was thought to represent the symbol of the Holy Trinity and passing through it would break these powerful bounds and bring ill fortune.

 But do these superstitions really have an effect? Many researchers have pondered this and all have found that superstitions have no effect on people’s fortunes. One of these experiments was conducted by a New York high school student and superstition sceptic, Mark Levin, who decided to test the notion that a black cat walking across your path would change your luck either to the better or to the worse.   To find out, he asked two people to play a simple coin tossing game.  Then, a black cat was encouraged to walk across their path, and the participants played the game once more, and the results were analysed.  As a control, the experiment was repeated using a white cat, to test whether the fortunes of the players was any different using a black or a white cat. Unsurprisingly, neither the white nor the black cat affected the results of the coin tossing game.  Other experiments involving broken mirrors and walking under ladders have shown similar results. 

But even though superstitions have no effect on our lives, some people really do seem to be luckier than others. Take Barnett Helzberg Junior for example. This man had built up a successful chain of jewellery stores, but was ready to sell up his business and retire. One day, he was walking in the street and heard a woman call ‘Hello Mr Buffett!’  Helzberg wondered whether the Mr Buffet in question could be the famous investor Warren Buffett. If it was, then he may well be interested in buying his company. Helzberg decided to take the chance, and approached the man. The meeting proved to be fortuitous, as about a year later, Buffett bought Helzberg’s stores, and all because he happened to overhear a woman calling his name! 

Professor Richard Wiseman decided to test what it was that made some people seemingly luckier than others. He invited people who considered themselves either lucky or unlucky to participate in a number of experiments.  Over the years of his study, he asked his volunteers to complete diaries, take part in interviews and intelligence tests. He found that people’s behaviour and approach to life are the primary cause of their level of luck in life.

In one experiment, he asked both lucky and unlucky people to count the number of pictures in a newspaper. On one page of the newspaper was written the words ‘Stop counting – tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250’.  It was found that lucky people saw this headline while unlucky people did not.  Did this experiment show that some people are therefore luckier than others? Or does it show that their behaviour is different?  This and other tests revealed that unlucky people tend to be more anxious than lucky people, and this anxiety means that people are fixated on one thing and less able to notice the unexpected.  Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see opportunities beyond those that they are looking for. Wiseman also noticed that lucky people have more variety and change in their lives, and this in turn increases the potential for chance opportunities in people’s lives.

So is it possible to change people’s luck by changing their outlook? Wiseman says yes. He created a ‘luck school’ in which he explained how lucky people create good fortune in their lives and gave them some exercises to do, such as breaking their everyday routines, and dealing with bad luck in a more positive way. The results were dramatic. A high number of people were happier and more satisfied in their lives. Some had found romantic partners through chance encounters, and others had had lucky breaks at work.

So overall, Wiseman’s research in the field of luck has revealed that although there seems to be no truth behind superstitions, some people really are luckier than others, and this is mostly down to our thoughts and behaviour, and proves that by changing these, we can actually increase the amount of luck we experience in our lives.