Who or what dispenses luck?

[flobadob]

Almost every single person who reads this, I'm sure will have at one time or another remarked on their own, or someone else's, luckiness or unluckiness. My question is, has anyone ever worked out who is dispensing said luck, be it positive or negative and why, as it appears to me, is it that certain people have regular spells of good luck, whereas others have luck less frequently? Is it completely random, or is there a method to the madness?

[didoatwork]

I think if you are a positive person you are more likely to think that some things are good luck rather than inevitible

[To-Ryscum]

As Gary Player once said :"You know,it"s funny,but the more I practice -
the luckier I get".

[ummmm]

I think it's a positive attitude as well.

[jake-the-peg]

There was some research some time ago that optimists were generally luckier people - can't find the reference right now

It seems that they are more likely to spot an opportunity and more likely to grab hold of it causing them to be seen as lucky people

[beso]

True luck (as opposed to positivity spotting opportunities) is governed by a statistically normal distribution.

Most people have an average amount of good and bad luck. A small number of people have a large amount of one or the other. For example, driving along a road and a tree falling on your car is just a matter of being genuinely unlucky. It is rare but it has happened to some people who just happened to be in the wrong place at teh wrong time.

This aspect of luck is overlooked by the like of people who write books about positive thinking. They got to write that book at least in part because they were not in the group that was beset by misfortune.

The general perception of "making one's own luck" is higly coloured by publishers who simply are not interested in publishing books written by people who through no fault of their own failed to achieve their goals.

[keyplus90]

I think it depends upon what do you call “luck”. I once gave example of a millionaire missing his flight and as a result could have missed a huge business contract worth million so called that one of the worst bad luck of his life only to find minutes later that the flight he missed crashed killing all on board. And then straight away called it the luckiest day of his life again on the basis of missing the flight. Which of the two expressions would you believe in.

People win lottery jack pot and be called lucky. But many of them later on regret because the moment money comes in families start falling apart. So what would you rather have? A happy family or a rich person who lost all of the family? Take your pick and see where do you feel lucky. I know my priorities and preferences.

[flobadob]

I know what you are saying keyplus et al, luck is relative and somewhat down to individual perceptions. However, the way I would define luck in terms of my question is in the simplest form I suppose, people who constantly seem to win competitions etc. That said, I know people who are lucky like that but who have lost people close to them at a young age and have been beset with cancer etc.

Perhaps it's best to sit in the middle and don't hope for any luck in your life. That way you may avoid bad luck, which will most probably outweigh the good on most occasions. I feel perhaps I've gotten an answer here, thanks.

[mibn2cweus]

http://cdn2.iofferpho...99/780/16/page108.jpg

[chakka35]

To ask "who is dispensing such luck?" is weird, seeming to assume the supernatural.
Sometimes, as has been said, "good luck" is the result of good work or planning, often not visible to others. Similarly "bad luck" can be the result of the reverse.

Luck in winning lotteries and such is purely random chance, some winning often and others seldom if ever.

As I said, weird question.

[flobadob]

Well, I much prefer my question being referred to as interesting than weird, but each t'it own.

[chakka35]

In calling your question weird, flobadob, I thought I was being tactful. To ask "who is dispensing said luck?" is actually just plain silly.

[boxtops]

I think it's a matter of attitude - having a positive outlook is so much better than being pessimistic, and expecting things to go wrong.

[flobadob]

chakka, I said "who or what", some people believe it's the cosmos.

[cazzz1975]

the people winnning the competitions regularly may enter competitions at a rate that is far more than average, I know a person who gets 3 and 4 numbers on the lottery on a regular basis, however though he may seem lucky, he spends 100 pounds per week on the lottery so that would change his odds somewhat

[jomifl]

but probably not enough..

[chakka35]

flobadob - what does 'some people believe it's the cosmos" mean, and who are these people? Whether it's by whom or by what, the idea of luck being 'dispensed' is fatuous.