What is lucky girl syndrome (and is it a healthy mindset?)

Have affirmations and manifestation had a trendy new rebrand? Or is there something more to the new #LuckyGirlSyndrome trend taking over TikTok?

We’re constantly finding new ways to rebrand our habits, experiences, and ourselves. #LuckyGirlSyndrome has taken over as the latest trend, with over 396 million views, as of February 13 2023. In recent times we’ve seen buzzwords like quiet thriving, halo and horn syndrome, and even quiet quitting gain traction. But are these just shiny new words to describe everyday behaviours, habits and reactions? Or is there really something behind the latest trend that can help us to make meaningful changes in our lives?

What is lucky girl syndrome?

Lucky girl syndrome started taking off in popularity in early 2023. Hailed as a new way of manifesting your goals, in essence, it uses affirmations (positive statements that impact how we think and behave) to influence what our minds focus on and to refocus on positive self-talk over negative.

Find out more about what affirmations are and do they really work.

The goal is often centred around having everything work out the way that you’re hoping it will – whether that’s having career opportunities open up, monetary success, or just believing good things will happen to you. Assume success and positive outcomes, and things will start to work out.

Some believe there’s neuroscience behind how lucky girl syndrome works. As some experts have pointed out, lucky girl syndrome can be seen as a rebranding of positive affirmations – a tool known for helping shift our mindsets and achieve specific goals, but not something in and of itself that can act as a magic ‘insta-fix’ or ‘cure-all’.

Regularly practising positive affirmations can help us to trick our brains into thinking we are actually experiencing something. It’s why you might feel more excitement in the run-up and planning stages of a holiday than you do on the actual vacation itself. Or why if you’re really anxious about an interview, creating a mental image of it going well can trick parts of your brain into thinking it has actually had a positive experience. Doing this over and over can help you to avoid self-sabotaging thoughts, behaviours, or habits, helping open you up for success.

As NLP practitioner Nicolae Rae-Wickham explains, “Language is one of the ways our mind is influenced and we can use it to help us get the results we want. It is this information that impacts our behaviour. Affirmations present your mind with an alternative narrative which seeps in on both an unconscious and conscious level.” In essence, the more we repeat positive things to ourselves, the more our brains understand that this is something important that they should focus on.

Lucky girl syndrome affirmations

Trying different affirmations can help some people to reframe events in their mind, find new ways of thinking, and focus on potential positive outcomes over negative ones. To maximise your chance of success with lucky girl affirmations, try and pick just a few simple ones you can easily remember and repeat daily. Popular lucky girl affirmations include:

• I’m so lucky.
• Everything works out in my favour.
• Great things are always happening to me.

You can also easily create your own affirmations by following four easy steps.

Is there any harm in believing in lucky girl syndrome?

Psychologist Robert West spoke to LiveScience, highlighting that this technique is something we’ve seen – and tried – countless times before. “The ‘lucky girl syndrome’ appears to be just the latest in a long history of magical thinking that we humans find so bewitching. Like most forms of magical thinking, [it] draws on a grain of truth…that ‘people make their own luck.’”

But as West goes on to explain, there is a real danger that by focusing only on thinking positive thoughts and trying to manifest change, we could forget to actually do things to make our lives – and the lives of those around us – better.

Lucky girl syndrome can also tie in with confirmation bias – meaning the more we expect it to work, the more likely we are to interpret events that happen to those around us as proof that our beliefs are real.

The timing of the rising popularity of lucky girl syndrome could have a lot to do with the time of the year. With millions of new views filling the start of 2023, could many of us be searching for an easier alternative to new years resolutions? Or are we just hoping to spread more positive energy in the wake of what has been a tough few years for everyone?

Making meaningful changes to your habits and way of thinking

It’s important to remember that using affirmations and manifestation can be helpful for some, but they don’t work for everyone. Positive affirmations and manifestation can be a great first step towards challenging your mindset, building a more positive outlook, and refocusing your energy on what you really want to achieve. But it’s important to remember that it’s just that – a first step. You still need to put in the time and effort to make serious, sustainable changes, to improve your outlook and truly start acting on those changes you want to make.

Working with a coach can help you to increase your self-awareness, allowing you to better recognise and acknowledge limiting beliefs. A coach can help you identify areas where there is room for improvement, boost your confidence and self-esteem, and help you to set goals – and create a plan to achieve them.

Ready to work with a life coach? Connect with a professional using Life Coach Directory