Lack is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity," said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I've never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it's probably worth listening to.
Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you're a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.
Richard Wiseman, the UK psychologist, conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups: those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, "Stop counting There are 43 photographs in this newspaper," was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.
It's easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are "lucky", in fact, keep an open mind and don't go through the same routine every day.
I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do, Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I've had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I've also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman's studies I think not.
As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性) thinking, but it's important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.
Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.
