18 May Good Luck Spots
If you find yourself strolling around New York City, you might look down and notice areas marked on the pavement — chalk-drawn circles with bold letters reading “bad luck spot” or “good luck spot.”
The circles are the work of street artist Felix Morelo, a Colombian-American artist who lives and works in New York. He draws and labels these spots across the city as an expression of the unavoidable negatives and positive we encounter in our lives.
I was reading about the fascinating psychology these circles are revealing. There’s the superstition of it all — people will go out of their way to not walk in the bad luck spot. There’s also the discrepancy between what people are seeing more of — differing views on whether there are more bad luck spots or good luck spots around the city.
The differing perspectives reminded me of a clever research study looking at whether people think about themselves as lucky (or not) and how that influences their behavior. People were first asked if they self-defined as lucky or not. Participants were then asked to walk to the next building to take part in the next step of the research. Before they set out on their walk, the researchers put a $20 bill along their path. Almost all of the self-identified lucky people noticed the money and picked it up, whereas the unlucky people didn’t tend to notice the money.
In their focused effort to get to the next building, the unlucky people seemed to miss the good luck that was in their path. And for New Yorkers who are certain there are more bad luck spots than good, I wonder if perhaps they are missing opportunities to see the good luck spots because they are too focused on looking for the bad luck ones.
Luck seems to have something to do with wider vision — an ability to spot opportunities by being physically and emotionally open to our environment.
The luckiest people are those who stroll along with their eyes wide open, fully present in the moment and seeing what is there rather than only what they are looking for.
Sometimes the harder we look, the less we actually see.