How to get lucky

Posted bymeadandreaPosted inLive your best life

I’ll start this month’s blog by talking about “luck”. Do you consider yourself lucky or unlucky?  I don’t believe I’ve prospered or succeeded through chance or good fortune, the dictionary definition of luck. I think I’ve just worked hard, like most of you.  I always felt that luck is a random phenomenon and, therefore, not something we can control.  But there’s lots of research, a good deal by Professor Richard Wiseman, suggesting that if you search for, create, and take advantage of new opportunities, you give yourself every opportunity to become lucky.

He recognises four traits as being associated with lucky people, and I’m only going to mention 1 of them as this is the subject of my blog.  If you want to read more about these other traits, I suggest buying the book “The Luck Factor”.  

Wiseman proposes that we should always take the opportunity to talk to strangers. I’m not someone who normally strikes up conversations with strangers – in fact, I sometimes avoid conversations on purpose. But the person sitting next to you on the train might offer you your next job, so I understand his point, and the book gives many more examples.

Jamie’s much better at talking to strangers than me and always improving his knowledge, so I’ve challenged myself to do it more, and it’s been fascinating. Those of you who follow me on social media will have noticed the amount of travelling we’ve done recently.  Jamie’s cricket has taken us to counties all over the southwest of England, some of which we haven’t visited before, and it’s been a wonderful experience.  We’ve been to Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Somerset, Devon, Oxfordshire, and, more recently, Wembley, and on each trip, I’ve taken the opportunity to talk to locals about the place they live; a recent trip to Wembley was my favourite.

Whilst I spent many years working in London and loving it, I wasn’t sad to move away to a quieter, more peaceful existence.  The contrast between London and Cornwall is stark, and I was keen to understand why people still love living in London as they get older. The constant noise of sirens, planes flying low overhead, 24/7 traffic; this noise never stops, and to be honest, I found it distracting and a tad annoying.

We were playing against Middlesex at Wembley Cricket Club, a stone’s throw away from Wembley Stadium. Many locals had come to watch, giving me the perfect opportunity to talk about their lives living in a London suburb. London is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, with over a third of its population born in a foreign country, meaning you can find restaurants serving national dishes from almost every country on the planet. Like most cities, London is synonymous with high-rise buildings, financial and cultural centres, and inner-city living, but the suburbs remain a poorly understood part of London life.

During my chats, I wanted to understand what it’s like to live in these misunderstood, often stereotyped urban areas. I was fascinated to hear stories about how the suburbs make people feel alive—walking 5 minutes down the road in their graffiti-scrawled world where secret gardens and hidden pubs can be found.  People are comforted by the constant noise that I found annoying, listening to people laugh, shout, and cry, all going about their vastly different days. 

You can be you. You can hide away and ignore everyone or go to wild clubs every night and dress in outlandish fashions, and no one will care. Cities and urban areas are so diverse that you can be just what and who you want to be. You won’t be judged for how you live or how you look. You can get anywhere without a car at any time of the day or night.  One guy talked about wonderful street food in incredible detail with so much enthusiasm. The local cafés are social hubs, and despite my perception that Londoners often feel a lack of community and are more isolated, I came away with the feeling that it was completely the opposite.

I appreciate that we’re all different. Some of you reading my blog will enjoy living in your town, village or remote countryside cottage and couldn’t ever imagine liking City life. Others won’t be able to handle missing out on the energy, vibrancy and boundless possibilities that come with living in the urban areas of a thriving city.

I’m certainly not richer in my pocket by talking to strangers (yet!), but I am richer in my knowledge of life in the London suburbs.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog; despite what we were taught as children, it’s good to talk to strangers (but only if you’re an adult 😊)

Until next time xx

Published by meadandrea

Blogger, writer, author, love to travel, photographer

Leave a comment