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Beyond Lucky Girl Syndrome: Uncovering the True Nature of Good Luck
What a psychologist says about the power of positive thinking and expectation
At the time I write this, #luckygirl has over 410 million views on TikTok. It’s clearly a resonant topic. The idea of this hashtag, also known as lucky girl syndrome, is you can make good things happen to you if you behave as if you’re expecting and already experiencing the most positive outcome.
You’re not talking yourself out of opportunities; you’re manifesting good luck, drawing it in, and affirming positive events.
There’s a degree of truth here, and it’s entirely worth investigating further.
University of Hertfordshire professor Richard Wiseman writes in The Luck Factor, “Lucky people expect to meet people who are interesting, happy, and fun to be with. They expect their interactions to go well and be successful.” This experiment comes to mind. It’s a scenario involving Martin, who believes he is lucky, and Brenda, who believes she is unlucky:
We created two potential ‘chance’ opportunities for both Martin and Brenda. We placed a crisp £5 note on the pavement directly outside the coffee shop. Martin and Brenda would have to walk past it to enter the shop — but would they notice the money? We also…
