Personality, Thoughts and Luck!!!

Continuing our talk about personalities, I would like today to speak about LUCK!!!

We all do that, despite we don't worship trees. This tradition of wood knocking came from the Belief in tree spirits and it is protective powers...or tree leprechauns!

Well!!!

There are a lot of charms and traditions and believes to bring luck and there is a well-known notion, that some people are lucky and some others are just unlucky, so is that true!!!

The answer is "Yes" and "No"!!!

Yes, some people are lucky but they choose that, so you can be lucky too!

Let us complicate things and speak about the scientific basis behind our "luck"!

I am just kidding!!!

Maybe the terms are a little bit complicated but I will try to debunk it!!

First factor: Pre-emptive Perception (PEP):

Pre-emptive perception and thinking; think before you react and try to perceive the situation. Exactly like playing chess, you calculate all the possible moves and your opponent's so you can easily win. PEP is a neurobiological process which involves a well-established cortical, sub-cortical and neuronal connection; in other words; PEP is a very complicated function of all levels of the brain. And that would explain why patients suffering from Parkinson's disease lack it. This study I find it very interesting because they explain the two steps of PEP very simple; first you evaluate the situation without starting any action and then you decide a certain action, secondly you start the action and midway through you brain re-evaluates the situation and may be change the course of your action subsequently. In Parkinson's disease, the patients are unable to change the course of their action after they have started it.

However, today I am not speaking about a disease but about a normal behavior of not using this PEP in our daily life!!!

Yes, some people just rush and react without thinking. Give your brain a chance to evaluate the situation and react appropriately, not that our brain is slow, but some situations are deeper than others so, just take a moment and think.

Second Factor: Counterfactual Thinking:

This term is used by psychologists to explain the "What if" kind of thinking. Counterfactual literally means against facts or against reality and here this counterfactual thinking can be positive and can be negative. In 1995, Roese and Olson gave a smart example; someone had a car accident, he could be thinking what if I didn't drive that fast? Or it would have been better if I were driving slower? And on the other hand he could also think what if I didn't wear my seat belts, I would have been killed!!!

So, in every situation, there are antecedents and a consequence, and every time you change one of the antecedents or the factors making or governing this situation, you will get a different consequence. The trick in counterfactual thinking is to circle around the situation and change all the antecedents until you reach a better consequence, accept it and study it. Only then you will see opportunities rather than risks!!!

If you think this factor over, you will find out that you know this theory already "is the glass half full or is it half empty". The trick is to actively apply it to all the situations, since psychologists have noticed that people normally use this way of thinking only in exceptional events and not in normal events.

Despite, that a lot of people would say that counterfactual thinking will lead to regrets however, scientifically it has been proved to help you see the bigger picture and see the solution. So, I guess it teaches us to be more imaginative than subjective and also more motivated and analytical!

Third Factor: Epistemic Luck:

So, is your luck moral or is it immoral?

And this question goes beyond your conscious decisions; for example; you are reversing your car on the drive way and you didn't look in the mirror and you passed out just fine and the situation ended...that is a good luck but then, what if you had hit an old man on your way out - although you didn't intended to - how can you evaluate your luck now!!!

It is a little bit going beyond what happened and what is expected, it is more of a globalized moral equilibrium. Some scientists argue that there is a difference between luck and lack of control; you are responsible for you actions even the unconscious ones! So are these factors in your hand (like for example; you should have looked in the mirror before reversing the car) or is it beyond your control; the old man was suddenly pushed in your driveway after you have looked in the mirror???

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Most of the world changing decisions came from people who are able to think differently. So, simply you need to see opportunities in every risk and chances in every situation. Only then can you seize the moment and be LUCKY!!!

So, is the glass half empty and we panic? or is it half full so we have time to find another one!?!

Positive attitude = Positive expectations = Positive Outcome

I know that sometimes the situations are so hard and sad that would make it difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but try to calm down and rethink this situation and try to re-evaluate it again.

So, at the end even if you already know these scientific facts, however, knowing is way different than applying. To apply these factors you need to re-program your brain; first to accept any situation as it is and then put it under the microscope...where did you go wrong and where did you go right? Is it in your hands? Is it not? Is it moral? or would anyone be negatively affected? And re-evaluate the situation every time. In the end you will see the hidden chances instead of seeing threats and then you can calmly calculate any possible risk.

So, it is up to you to re-format your brain and be lucky. I just hope that you will try this re-programming idea, because you will not lose anything to just try!

There is always a way forward, so do not go backward!

So, forget about leprechauns and tree spirits and let us all be lucky !

Want to know about the origin and development of psychology in Africa...you can find an interesting article here.

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Image Credit: by Montanabw via Wikimedia Commons.