Note: This article is based on the blogger Christian Busch, who tells us about the methods that make you lucky.
But there is another force that continually influences life and that often makes the greatest difference to our future. That is, the unexpected or the unpredictable. If you think about it, you do look at the unexpected every day, but maybe only as a defense mechanism. For example, when you are crossing a crosswalk on a busy road, you are looking for an unexpected driver who might be speeding at a red light. The key to comprehending the "smartly" produced science of luck and using it to your advantage is to be "vigilant" toward the unexpected.
One realization that has often emerged to me in my research on what makes individuals and organizations future-ready that many of the world's leading minds have successfully developed the often unconscious ability to transform the unexpected into positive results. Developing this "accidental mindset," as I call it, is at the same time a philosophy of life and an ability that you can forge and nurture in yourself. Although this approach has been successful in many contexts, it must go hand in hand with addressing the inequality that has to do with factors such as race, gender, and income.
You may think of serendipity as bad luck that just happens to you, when in reality it is an active process of identifying, relating things, and then taking initiatives and actions to create luck intelligently. Serendipity is a guiding force in great scientific discoveries, but it is also present in our daily lives from the smallest moments in life to the greatest life-changing events, and this is how we find love unexpectedly, or find a founder to share a business, a new job, or a business partner, and this is how some inventions appeared, such as the small sticky notes, X-rays, penicillin, microwaves, and many other innovations.
My research suggests that serendipity has three essential properties. It starts with the coincidence, and then the moment you encounter something unusual or unexpected, after that you need to link things; That is, observing what might trigger the coincidence and linking it to something that seems unrelated, and then realizing the potential value in the opportunity, and finally intelligence and perseverance are required in order to move forward and achieve an unexpected positive result while meeting a specific opportunity is a significant event.
To be lucky, it is necessary to be open and attentive to the unexpected. Let us consider here an entertaining experiment carried out by British psychologist Richard Wiseman on a BBC television program some time ago, in which only two people participated: One described himself as “lucky” and the other described herself as “unlucky.” The researchers asked both participants to make separate visits to a coffee shop. They put ￡5 on the pavement outside the cafe without the knowledge of the participants, and inside the cafe, there was a person pretending to be a successful businessman who sat at the table next to the participants’. The "lucky person" came and saw the money outside and then took it. Inside, he asked for a cup of coffee, sat next to the businessman, and had a conversation with him. As for the one who described herself as "unlucky," she did not notice the money and she did not talk to the businessman.
Later, the researchers asked both participants how their day was, and the “lucky” person mentioned that he had a wonderful day because he had found money on the street and made a new friend “that might lead him to additional opportunities in his life.” Meanwhile, the “unlucky” girl described her day as devoid of events. So even though both participants had the same opportunities, only one of them was able to "notice" those opportunities.
Such an experience, while hilarious, shows that your mindset and the way you think about any possibility in your life can affect your ability to pay attention to the opportunities in your life. In fact, terms like "unexpected," "exceptional," and "improbable" are misleading because accidents or coincidences happen all the time, but we must be able to see the opportunity at the moment.
Although paying attention to the unexpected is crucial to creating luck intelligently, there is another major factor, namely, readiness. In part, this is about removing mental (your mindset) and physical (the space in which you live and interact) barriers, such as overburdened schedules, meaningless meetings, and inefficiency in your day. This robs you of time, curiosity, and your sense of pleasure.
By enhancing your mental strength, you can prepare to seize opportunities and create an environment that enables you to use your available skills and resources for immediate action. The unprepared mind often ignores unusual encounters, thus squandering the chances of cleverly crafted luck.
Being prepared means developing the ability to accelerate and harness the positive coincidences that appear in life. In this guide, I'll show you the basic principles of how to do that.
Recognize and challenge your biases
Our habits of thinking and preconceptions about the world can make it difficult to spot or harness coincidences because they shape our behavior and how we interact with the world. There are three main biases that will require the most attention to overcome if we are to effectively cultivate chance, such as underestimating the unexpected, hindsight bias, and functional fixedness.
It's natural to underestimate the unexpected, but when you do, you neglect opportunities to cleverly create luck. It is unlikely that on the day of your big presentation, Zoom would crash, and unlikely that the person who was supposed to evaluate your presentation would get sick, and you're also not likely to spill coffee on your laptop right before the presentation, but if you add up all these unlikely events, it becomes relatively likely that something unexpected will happen.
Experienced presenters often make a joke when things go wrong for them, and they know that they often go wrong, and this tends to win the audience over to their side.
Because they seem quick to get back on their feet and comfortable sharing their humanity, the same logic applies to all the good things that can happen throughout the day. Once we accept that the unexpected happens all the time, we begin to “see” it like the “lucky” person who spotted the money on the street in the aforementioned experiment, and we begin to see it as a potential benefit or opportunity rather than a threat.
Hindsight bias
When we base stories on past events, we often act as if there is a straight, linear path, even though reality is likely to follow a zigzag path. This can lead us to perceive events as overly predictable and to ignore the role of opportunity. It is our human need to find familiarity in the unknown, yet if you are constantly recounting the many unexpected events that have happened to you in your stories, you will miss the importance of the unexpected parts, not to mention the crucial role chance will play in your future.
Functional fixedness
Whenever we use an instrument in our daily lives, we get used to its usual specific function. We are often unable to see its benefit in other contexts, and this is a bias known as “functional fixedness.” Similarly, research has shown that people who habitually use specific problem-solving strategies are less likely to come up with easier strategies, even if they are more appropriate.
In other words, we tend to do many things out of habit and often continue to use the "hard way" completely easily because it's the way we originally knew it. Having the skill to improvise to see how a particular instrument can be used in a new way is key to building your serendipity mindset.
Let us consider fictional characters such as Lara Croft or James Bond and how they managed, thanks to their quick wit, to turn any ordinary thing into a deadly weapon. We admire these characters because we are aware of their talent and resourcefulness, and perhaps we are less likely to think of their own solutions when faced with the same predicament as they were.
Your creativity will flourish when you let go of the physical and mental tools with which you are most familiar and find new ways of working or thinking.
Foster a serendipity mindset
In addition to challenging your innate biases and making an effort to think outside your box, there are many other practical steps you can take to help develop or strengthen your serendipity, which will help you identify and declutter your life, make space for chance, make more connections, and see opportunities in crises.
Resort to journaling
If you are not used to journaling, don't overthink it. Rather, set a two-minute timer and then list in two columns the parts of your day that led to positive results and the other parts that did not, and as you divide your day into these parts, examine the parts that worked really well for you and those that were ineffective, stressful, or unsatisfying.
You may begin to notice some distinct patterns in good and bad. Journaling and thinking are ways to start decluttering your life to explore the areas that prevent you from recognizing the coincidences. Sometimes, it seems that a small inconvenience can drain your energy and alertness even more.
Declutter your life
Once you spot one of these patterns, start detailing decisions and information related to why things aren't working out, asking yourself, "Based on what assumption or belief did I make this decision or choose to do things this way?" and “What would influence me to decide or act differently?” and "What can I do instead?" For some people, it's as easy as getting up 10 minutes earlier.
We live unique and complex life. If you overlook the details, they will no longer take up space in your daily life, and you will have more cognitive, emotional, and physical attention to devote to the things that matter most. So cross off your to-do list, pay the bills if you can, replace a burnt-out light bulb in your house, or even sign up for a dining plan to save time and money when eating out.
When you stop procrastinating and these easy things are finally taken care of, they won’t clutter your mind anymore, and you'll enhance your ability to observe, be present, inspire, and be curious, all of which will have a profound effect on building your serendipity.
Set aside time just for you
Serendipity is a process; it is an occasion to turn opportunity into good fortune through your own efforts, which does not always happen in a flash. Be patient and know that part of your effort can lead to immediate results, while the other part will be like planting seeds. The fruits of your labor will surprise you in the future, and meanwhile, respecting your time every day is a habit of utmost importance. Setting a schedule for yourself and protecting your own time will allow you to manage your focus, interests, and creative energies.
Do daily serendipity practices
There are easy tools that can help you notice, increase and invest in your daily life. For example, whenever you meet a new person, talk about your current interests, hobbies, and profession, thus increasing the chance that you and the other person will find common interests—this is serendipitous. Similarly, you can practice asking questions in a different way, for example, "What interests you the most at the moment?" rather than “What are you doing?" which will once again maximize the chance of a coincidental connection.
Finally, “reframe” mistakes, challenges, and setbacks as opportunities. For example, while I was blaming myself for an investment decision I misjudged, I realized that this experience taught me a lot and helped guide many of my future decisions.
Similarly, a company I co-founded got off to an inauspicious start when it began to run out of funds in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. The team managed to turn the tables, putting aside our initial plans for a massive global conference and instead launching a model based on the company's focus, which includes small community get-togethers. What seemed like "bad luck" at first turned into "good luck" by reframing the situation, resulting in a coherent global community.
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