Lucky people expect positive outcomes.

Bette Davis said "I've been lucky. I'll be lucky again." This confidence in continued good luck is another common characteristic in lucky people. By anticipating that good things will happen, lucky people don´t get bogged down by negative thoughts. Instead, they leave their energy for taking steps to achieve those goals. They persevere when faced with obstacles and even though the plan may seem lofty to an outsider, lucky people are often able to make dreams a reality.

The Harry Potter author JK Rowling wanted to be a writer since she was a girl. Like all of us, she encountered several obstacles along the way. Her parents encouraged her to study French instead of English. Her mother’s death, a failed marriage and poverty as a single mom could easily have been excuses to drop the dream and simply survive, but she is lucky. The now billionaire author of seven books is now happily married and trying her hand at crime fiction.

Activities to Try with your Children

• Something Good about Today-Make it a routine to start the dinner table conversation with each family member telling one or two positive things about the day. Focusing on the positive each night reminds everybody how lucky the family is and keeps those thoughts at the forefront of the mind. (If eating dinner together is not common in your household, try starting the routine a few nights a week.)

• Good Day Journal-Purchase a special notebook. Your child can even decorate it. Each night before your child goes to bed ask him/her to tell you three positive things about the day. Write them down in the journal. Within a week there will be 21 positive things to remember. By the end of the month there will be 90!

• Ideas on perseverance:

o The blog by BernieQuimpo at http://hubpages.com/hub/I-Quit suggests:

• Help kids break up big projects into small pieces. It helps to feel the little successes.

• Don't do your child’s work for them. Struggling through is part of the process.

• Praise effort, not intelligence.

o Another practical idea:

• When your child wants to start a new activity, make clear the minimum amount of time that s/he should stay with it. Many kids get discouraged and want to quit if they aren't in the starting line up or not in a starring role. Help them practice the skills necessary to move toward their goals.

"If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right." – Henry Ford