Welcome back to the Savvy Psychologist. I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson and every week I'll help

you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

Were you born under a lucky star, or maybe you're having a Friday the 13th kind of life. It turns out having good luck isn't just a matter of, well,

luck. So this week we'll examine the science of getting lucky. No, not that kind of getting lucky. So here we go. All right, you find a

penny, you pick it up. What happens next? Are you the type to believe that all day long

you'll have good luck or are you simply

one cent richer? Some people are more naturally inclined to believe in luck than

others. If you're in the camp that searches for four-leaf clovers or sets out a one-paw raised Manekie

Neko cat in the front window of your business, research finds that your belief in good luck hangs together

with two specific traits. First, believing in good

luck goes along with being optimistic. You likely have a positive outlook on life.

And second, believing in good luck goes along with what's called

positive illusions, ways of seeing the world which are biased in your favor. For example, you may believe everything will turn out fine.

Think you are in control of your own destiny,

or have a healthily inflated sense of your own abilities.

If you've ever seen an overly confident chihuahua bark like a boss and a bigger dog, you know exactly what I mean.

Now, using pure logic, none of these beliefs is 100% realistic, but they make us feel good and, interestingly,

make us more effective and successful.

A little delusion, it turns out, is adaptive.

Okay, so now, what if you're not exactly little Miss Sunshine, or less Chihuahua and more black cat.

How should you approach luck?

Well, lucky you asked.

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