In the previous article, I’ve mentioned that some of the best twists and turns of life occur simply through a "happy coincidence", called serendipity. I then defined serendipity in detail and saw that it is what happens when we are active in what we do - including in our lives - and we are also very attentive to what is around us.
In this article, I want to show you 5 ways to serendipity, 5 methods to bring it into your life.
How serendipity enters our lives
Often underestimated, serendipity is not an accident or a chance encounter but a "sudden enlightenment, as defined by the mathematician Poincaré, a visible sign of a long previous subconscious activity." This subconscious activity continues even in moments of rest. You know what it's like to have something that worries you and runs in the background of your mind like a movie. These background films are the ones that attract serendipity leading us to discover something we did not know before, to do something we could not do earlier, to meet someone who changes our lives, or to find out about something we really needed.
Serendipity and the comfort zone
Our common human tendency is to remain in the sphere of the known, in our comfort zone. However, serendipity cannot arise from this sphere that contains the problem to be solved. It needs a wider sphere through which to restructure the narrower sphere with our problem or challenge. So, if we do not get out of our comfort zone, we will not be able to discover all these things or unknown but very precious connections.
How to call serendipity into our lives
- Therefore, the first way to bring serendipity into our lives is to create the right framework to increase the likelihood of unexpected things happening. If you only stay at home on your favorite series, you cannot widen your sphere of knowledge even if the series has an exciting topic or appeals to your imagination. And this is because your attitude is a passive one; however attracting serendipity requires an active attitude, dynamism and provocation of situations that result in enough new and unplanned aspects to appear and the so-called coincidence, or happy accident.
If you try something once and then give it up giving in to depression and despair how do you think events can be structured to push you further? You have to take the first step through your active and dynamic attitude.
- Closely related to this is the second ingredient of bringing serendipity into one's life: inner openness. If you think that you always know everything, that you have all the answers and keys, how could you find something new, a path that was not previously walked? I think you know the Zen story of pouring tea into a full cup. It is clear that it is overflowing. Where else to pour something if the space is already full? It is exactly the same with serendipity. If you do not leave room for the unknown - which is not always comfortable - you cannot even glimpse the positive potential of new experiences. And for that we need a dose of confidence in life, a little openness to the vulnerability of not knowing exactly what is next and a touch of curiosity.
- Include the random factor in your life, i.e. things you would not normally do. E.g:
- someone invites you to a dinner where there are only people you do not know at all or very little, go meet new people;
- create space for people to interact with each other more at your workplace, create a green area to serve tea during breaks and get to know each other;
- you zoom a lot with people from different departments who do not know each other, organize short activities in breakout rooms where participants are randomly distributed;
- read magazines or books from fields that are unknown to you to learn something new, learn new skills, or, why not, learn a new language;
- Do something new, go to a place where you have never been - maybe even go another way to work or do your shopping in another part of town at another store.
- Let the ideas flow and help others to get to know serendipity. I am not referring here to becoming an ambassador or preacher of serendipity, but to being open to sharing what you know and helping others where you can. Leave the knowledge free, do not link it to confidentiality contracts unless it is absolutely necessary and does not cause you any harm. What you give always comes back one way or another, sooner or later, so be open with what you know.
- Express your gratitude. Find 5 reasons for gratitude every night. Do not say you don't have them, because if you say that, it means you haven't looked carefully in your life. You breathe well, walk, and see, you have a warm house, you ate something today or you have a phone that has an internet connection that immediately facilitates your access to applicable information - are just a few general reasons. Do not think that they are self-evident, because it is not like that. There are people who do not have them and yet they are happy. Gratitude is what brings happiness, not the other way around, to wait to be happy in order to be grateful! By being aware of the reasons for gratitude and expressing them, we expand the scope necessary to invite serendipity into our lives.
If you need advice or help regarding your life situations, contact me for a coaching session.
I wish you good luck, thank you and I am looking forward to talking to you!
