Are you superstitious yet?

We just entered the Year of the Rabbit and the prognosis is gloomy. I am not superstitious, or at least I was not, until I read Bounce by Matthew Syed. Since then I have considered taking up a quirky habit or two.

The thing is that superstitions work. It is not the superstition itself of course, but the strong belief that you associate with it. All you have to do is to anchor a positive belief to a thing or a habit of sorts and wait for the results to reveal themselves  - which they probably will. If you really, really believe that is. It is kind of a placebo effect. And interestingly enough, recent research has revealed that placebos in medicine work, even if the patient knows they are taking a placebo. Using this chain of thought, even though I know that jumping up and down three times before going on stage to deliver a presentation is not in itself going to help me shake off my fear of public speaking, if I convince myself that it will, it might actually work. Or will it?

Well, it's not that simple. I have to bear in mind that in sports, superstitious habits are usually born out of superior performance, and all one has to do is to convince himself that this particular performance had something to do with jumping up and down three times right before it and to simply repeat that ritual next time the same level of performance is expected. 

Now that I think about it, I used to have a lucky charm - my so called interview watch: a fancy designer wrist watch that made me feel very confident. I wore it to most job interviews, and whenever I had it on, things went well. So I guess it's probably more common than we like to think. Perhaps we are all superstitions in some way. It seems like expensive clothes and other gadgets are just that: a way to superficially boost the confidence and  feeling of superiority of the buyer towards those that choose otherwise, or simply can’t afford them, and to create a perception of being more special and capable. After all, confidence is key, and someone might be attributed superior qualities that they do or do not have, based on just that. And at this point, as Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers clearly indicates by highlighting the power of perception, extra attention and better opportunities might be given. Some will start believing in themselves even more, sometimes live up to the expectations and up their game. In the end they will most probably become convinced that all those opportunities presented themselves because of their superior dedication, work ethic, performance, etc. ... and there we go.

Coming back to the Year of The Rabbit - apparently there is a way to overcome the widespread gloom: wearing white and yellow clothes, eating white and yellow food and wearing dog pendants is supposed to do the trick. Oh well, I might as well give it a shot at one point - all for the sake of research of course. And while I'm shopping for clothes, I could check out designer options. It's just a small sacrifice in the whole scheme of things.

How about you? Are you superstitious yet?

ELLE DECOR