TANGIBLE WAYS TO CULTIVATE SERENDIPITY IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Set serendipity hooks. Whenever you communicate with someone, cast a few hooks: concrete examples of your current interests, hobbies and vocation. This maximises the chance that you and the other person ‘coincidentally’ latch onto common ground and shared passions, triggering serendipity.

Change the way you ask questions. Imagine meeting a new person at a dinner party. Many of us might go on autopilot and ask the dreaded ‘So what do you do?’ This tends to put the other person into a box that is hard to get out of. Positioning ourselves for smart luck means asking more open-ended questions, such as ‘What did you find most interesting about such-and-such?’ or ‘What do you enjoy doing?’ Such questions open up conversations that might lead to intriguing – and often serendipitous – outcomes. It also helps you identify what brings you together – versus what sets you apart.

Nurture and expand your network. Technology easily fosters serendipitous networking from home, for example, by setting ‘serendipity bombs’. Write honest, speculative messages to people you admire (for example, via Linkedin Inmail) to share how they have already shaped your trajectory, and open up a conversation about how they can be a part of your future journey. Or follow professionals you respect on Twitter and make a point of providing thoughtful, relevant commentary on what they have to say.

Reflect on incidences when serendipity could have happened, but did not. Perhaps you spilled coffee over someone, sensed some sort of connection, but did not start a conversation? Perhaps you were sitting in a meeting, had an unexpected idea, but did not raise it? What was it that held you back? Identify the root cause (Fear of rejection? Imposter syndrome?) and tackle it. For example, if it is based on fear of rejection, put yourself into potential positions of rejection – and get used to it!

Write down three things you would do if you had no constraints and you couldn’t fail. Write down the reasons why you think you cannot reframe the situation. And then the reasons why or how you can. Then act on them and make it happen!