We've been trying to improve our luck for centuries:

幾世紀以來，人類不斷嘗試改善運氣：

lucky charms, amulets, and talismans have figured in virtually every recorded civilization.

幸運符、護身符和避邪物幾乎每個文明都有。

Early Europeans believed iron had magical qualities, so hanging horseshoes in your house was meant to ward off spirits.

早期的歐洲人認為鐵有神奇特質，因此在家中懸掛馬蹄鐵有避邪作用。

Touching or knocking on wood is said to date back to Celtic rituals that were designed to rouse the tree gods and call on their protection.

觸碰或敲擊木頭據說可追溯至凱爾特人的儀式，用於喚醒樹神並祈求保佑。

Throughout history, people have recognized that good and bad luck can transform lives.

綜觀歷史，人們已體認到好運和壞運能改變人生。

A few seconds of bad luck can overturn years of hard work, and moments of good luck can save years of striving.

倒楣幾秒鐘可以推翻數年的努力，而片刻的好運卻可省下數年奮鬥。

Superstition represents people's attempts to improve and control their luck.

迷信意味著人們嘗試改善和控制自身運氣。

British psychologist and author Richard Wiseman undertook a ten year study on the science of luck.

英國心理學家兼作家 Richard Wiseman 對運氣科學展開了為期十年的研究。

In one experiment he asked people to look through a newspaper and count the number of photographs inside.

在一項實驗中，他要求人們翻閱報紙並計算裡面的照片數量。

On average it took the people who thought of themselves as unlucky around two minutes.

平均而言，認為自己不幸的人約需耗時兩分鐘。

People who thought of themselves as lucky on the other hand took a few seconds.

認為自己幸運的人們則僅需要幾秒鐘的時間。

Why?

為什麼呢？

Because on the second page, there was a message that said, in a massive font,

因為在第二頁上有一則放大字體的訊息：

"Stop counting, there are 43 photographs in this newspaper."

「別數了，報紙上有 43 張照片。」

The lucky people it seems were more open to possibilities other than the ones they were searching for.

幸運的人對於可能性抱持著較為開放的態度，而不僅只是在搜索。

There are four main psychological principles that separate lucky people from unlucky ones.

有四個主要的心理學原理可用來區分幸運與不幸的人。

So first of all, lucky people are more open to opportunities, spotting them and making the most of them.

首先，幸運的人比較能夠接受機會，發現並充分利用它們。

Second, they tend to be optimists, and that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.　

再者，他們較為樂觀，這會變成一種自我實現的預言。

They're pushing forward, they're expecting the best.

他們將自己往前推進，並期望最好的情況。

Also differences in terms of intuition:

直覺方面也有所不同：

lucky people tend to have lucky hunches and trust their intuition.

幸運的人往往會有幸運的預感，並相信自己的直覺。

And finally, they're more resilient:

最後，他們更具韌性：

When bad things happen, they're good at turning that bad luck into good fortune.

當壞事發生時，他們善於將厄運變成好運。

So big differences in the way they think and the way they behave.

他們的思維和行為與常人迥然不同。

But whilst it's true that if you train hard you are more likely to win a sporting event,

但儘管刻苦訓練，能讓你更有機會贏得體育比賽，

or the harder you swot for an exam the more you increase your chances of the best grade you're capable of.

或者越是刻苦準備考試，就越可能取得佳績。

Here's the kicker.

但重點來了。

No amount of positivity, work or preparation will reduce the chance of say,

有些事，再怎麼積極努力或準備都無法降低其發生的機率，

being kept awake by noisy neighbors the night before an exam or slipping on a wet patch as you run during a race.

比如，考試前一晚被喧嘩的鄰居吵到無法入眠，或是比賽中因踩到濕滑地面而滑倒。

It would be wrong to think that all of someone's good or bad luck is entirely due to the way they're thinking and behaving.

認為某人的好運完全取決於他們的思維方式和舉止是錯誤的。

When it comes to people who aren't quite so successful or happy in life, we shouldn't think it's all their fault.

當涉及到生活不太成功或幸福的人們時，我們不應該認為這全是他們的錯。

It could be down to where they're born, or the society they're born into, or chance accidents, or illnesses,

這可能取決於他們的出生地，所處的社會，偶然的事故或疾病，

and you need to take all of those factors into account.

得將這些因素都考慮進去。

In 2012, at a campaign rally, Barack Obama caused controversy when he said,

在 2012 年的一場競選集會，Barack Obama 說了一段引起爭議的話，

"If you're successful, you didn't get that on your own."

「如果你很成功，你並不僅是靠一己之力而達成的。」

"If you're successful, somebody along the line gave you some help."

「如果你成功了，在路上一定有人給予了你一些幫助。」

And he raises a key factor when considering the role of luck.

在思考運氣的作用同時，他提出了這個關鍵因素。

There's a whole bunch of hard-working, positive-thinking people out there who aren't successful and certainly aren't lucky.

有很多努力工作、正面思考的人，他們並沒有成功，當然也不是幸運的。

Obama's statement sparked debate, with several online publications railing against him,

Obama 的聲明引發了辯論，幾家在線出版物都譴責他，

and public figures like republican rival Mitt Romney openly rebuffing him.

共和黨競爭對手 Mitt Romney 等公眾人物公開駁斥他。

For many, Obama's comments were seen as an insult to the American work ethic and the idea that success was achieved through merit.

對於許多人來說，Obama 的言論被視為一種侮辱美國人的敬業精神以及透過功績得以獲得成功的想法。

But as the economist Robert H. Frank argues, talent and drive will get you so far, but luck, and life chances, will also play a huge role.

但是，正如經濟學家 Robert H. Frank 的論證所說，才能和動力可以讓你到達一定的程度，但是運氣和人生的改變也同時扮演重大的角色。

What if you asked the question, "Where do your talents come from?"

如果你問，「你的才能來自於哪裡？」

"Where does your propensity to work hard come from?"

「你努力工作的傾向從何而來？」

If you're a hard working person who has a lot of talent,

如果你是一個天資聰穎、勤奮工作的人，

you got those traits from the environment you grew up in and from the genes you inherited.

你的這些特徵來自於成長環境以及遺傳基因。

You're not in any strict sense in a position to claim moral credit for them,

嚴格說來，你並不能夠因此獲得道德表揚，

and so we're comfortable enough saying that you're lucky to have those traits.

所以我們可以很輕鬆的說你很幸運擁有這些特質。

But what about the person who works hard?

但是努力工作的人呢？

Is that person not entitled to congratulate herself for the effort she put forward?

那個人是否沒有資格祝賀自己所付出的努力呢？

What we know is that putting forth effort in trying circumstances is difficult.

我們都知道在艱難的情況下付出努力是困難的。

It requires often a Herculean will to go forward in the face of one setback after another.

面對屢屢挫敗，往往需要的是一個堅定的意志。

If you're the kind of person who's been taught that your temperament alone determines whether you'll be persistent and your temperament is just a matter of luck,

如果從小就被教導性格就能決定你是否是個有毅力的人，而你是什麼性格全取決於運氣，

I think you're more likely to sit back and wait and see what happens.

那麼你很可能會屏棄努力，做等事情發生。

If instead you view yourself as the captain of your own fate and think,

反之，如果人將自己視為掌握命運的船長並想著：

"It's up to me to make it happen,"

「事情成敗完全取決於我」

you're much more likely to persist against a series of setbacks.

那麼你更有可能堅持承受住一連串的挫折。

So it's like Richard Wiseman said earlier,

因此，誠如 Richard Wiseman 之前所說，

"lucky and unlucky people are often determined by the way they think,"

「幸運和不幸往往取決於人的思維方式。」

which suggests that there is hope for change.

這意味著人們有改變的希望。

I think that anyone has the capability and the potential to make themselves luckier.

我認為任何人都有讓他們自己更幸運的能力和潛力。

It's realizing that lots of that good fortune is due to the way you're thinking, the way you're behaving.

只需要明白很多好運都歸結於思維和行為模式。

Understand the mindset of the lucky person, and you can bring more good fortune into your life.

了解幸運者的心態，就可以為自己的生活帶來更多好運。

Thanks for watching.

謝謝觀賞。

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別忘了訂閱並點擊小鈴鐺收取新影片通知。

See you again soon!

下次見囉！