What Makes You Lucky???

Have you ever thought about what makes you lucky?

Have you ever thought about what makes you lucky? There are several factors that go into making someone like you, lucky. Many people believe that their strengths cause them to be lucky. What are strengths you ask? Well, they are things that you may be good at. For example: You could be good at sports, schools, art, music, or making things. They are also things such as being a good friend, listener, helper, speaker, motivator, and person.

Others believe that in addition to strengths, family and friends cause you to be lucky. Friends and/or family are those who support and care for you. They watch out for you and are there when you need them. They also help you reach goals that you have set for yourself. They help encourage you and emphasize the strengths that you have (whether or not you know what your strengths are). They pat you on the back for a job well done.

Still others believe that the successes you have had are what make you

Everyone's success is different

 lucky. Successes could be passing in school, getting on a team or club, getting a job, getting your license, or reaching a goal that you may have set for yourself. Other types of successes can be growing up with one parent, overcoming substance abuse, coping with unplanned pregnancy, surviving child abuse, or any other life factor that may have given you hardship. Many also view success by their ability to help and support others in need. Success is in the eye of the achiever and can only be defined by that person. Therefore, everyone's success is different and as long as you recognize what your success is, that is what is important.

Sometimes certain experiences can make you feel lucky. Yes even the bad ones! Illness or injury may have taught you how to take care of yourself better. These experiences may have taught you to appreciate life better. Negative experiences can help to teach you valuable life lessons and to perhaps instill what you have learned, in others.

Luck is a perception you have about yourself and others.

At the Teen Health Centre, we believe that what makes you lucky is all of the above. Luck is a perception you have about yourself and others. Do you ever notice how different everyone's opinion is about luck? The following are examples of different people's perception of luck. A student, who has been struggling all year in school with a failing mark, passes the final exam and gets his credit. Does he/she consider himself/herself lucky? A person who gets fired from their place of employment and then finds a job that they really enjoy. Was he/she lucky for losing his/her job? A person who is running late for work misses the bus. That same bus then gets in an accident injuring several people. Is he/she lucky that on that day, he/she is late for work? Last but not least, a person who is in the Olympics and does not win a medal. Are they lucky? Some would consider that they are because they have made it to the Olympics. Others would agree that the best honor is just to compete for your country and have the support from family and friends to have achieved their goal. Others would not think that the person is lucky because they did not win and that all their hard work did not pay off.

Once again we notice that success is in the eye of the achiever. It is also important to give credit wherever credit is due. It is your perception that matters about yourself and how lucky you are. No one can tell you how lucky you are or aren't. Follow your intuition and believe in yourself. Surround yourself with individuals that recognize your strengths and allow you room to express them. Believe in others, even though they may at times let you down. So the question for you to think about is "How lucky are you and how do you know?".

Don’t let life discourage you

“Don’t let life discourage you;
everyone who got where he is
had to begin where he was”.
...Richard L. Evans