Luck, Deja Vu and Intention Creation

Ever since I can remember I have been curious about deja vu.  I remember times early on in elementary school when I would suddenly get a tingly feeling all over my body and look around to realize that everything around me was a little too familiar, so familiar that I could swear I had done it all before.  Well, I had.  Later in life I learned to recognize that none of this was deja vu at all, but I was remembering dreams that I had from when I was younger.  Just last week I had a stint of this, and I remembered not only the dream, but my confusion at the dream when I was a kid: Why was I dreaming of places I had never seen before or heard of?  Perhaps the future is not so random, but actually a place in my head and it is manifesting itself in a real form, just delayed a bit.

Maybe not, but it gets me at least to question the concept of luck.  Chance and Odds and Probability I understand, like rolling dice or playing cards: these are not games of "luck," as that assumes one person has an advantage over another due to his degree of luckiness, or because it is lucky day.  But that makes no sense - you can't possess an inherant ability to change the odds, can you?  

Yet again, maybe not (at least in dice and cards), but it sure as hell feels that way when you change your mindset from "my life sucks and it's because of everyone around me" to "well sure people around me don't care about my life as much as I do, so I have to take full responsibility for myself to ensure my own happiness and success."  When I did this, as I have been doing for roughly a week now, "luck" seemed to shift from out of my hands completely, to completely within grasp.  Instead of waiting for the odds to roll in my favor, I took it upon myself to make certain key decisions - I need X to happen, if not i'll do Y, and while I'm waiting for X I'll do Z to make sure Y is possible, and so on.  The second I put this in to play and directed my energy this way, X happened, as though the whole world shifted itself for me.  Before it happened I was completely at ease with myself and not in any sort of pressure or panic, even though my whole life was on the line, and there was a possibility I would have to pack up and move again. 

It is amazing what happens when people don't resign themselves to their situation, to their boss, to their income, to the gods, or whatever/whoever.  That doesn't mean feeling pressure and stress because there is so much work for you to do and no one to help, and even at that moment of total acceptance of responsibility for myself and the creation of my own luck I was still in a state of calm - even more so than when I had to worry about pissing off the gods.  Instead, I just redirected my energy in a more positive direction, one that was empowering and constructive, rather than dispiriting and destructive.  Instead of complaining like I would in the past, I used that energy to analyze my situation more objectively.  Instead of worry about my bosses day in and day out, I relaxed and spent more time figuring about what is the best for me, as when you strip down the superficial facades of money, rank, and office space,  those masters turn out to be nothing but people who you happen to be in a business deal with.

A lot of people criticise mindset -based personal development, which professes that a better mindset will turn into a better life.  While I can't argue to what degree, I can say that it has worked for me in some ways.  I switch from frenzied fresh graduate employee to a smart calm and confident businessman, which is all in my head mind you, and things changed rather quickly.  I spent 4 months of frenzying, and 1 month on changing my mindset; you can guess which one has earned me the most benefit and the greatest peace of mind.  Perhaps luck is also a state of mind.