A lucky charm can be anything that you believe will bring you that extra something you need to get you where you want to go. It can be a token (like a coin, a shell, or a rock) or it can be a piece of clothing, a color or a number, or a particular song you sing. Basically, a “charm” creates a kind of magical spell, which brings you confidence and comfort. It’s something familiar, that we can rely on when we feel that our nerves, or circumstances, can get the better of us.

In a way, having a lucky charm is a little bit like leaving the details up to the universe. We admit that we only have so much control, and that there is an element of fate, or luck, involved. When we have our lucky charm with us, we feel like that luck is on our side – and we can give up some of the feeling that it is all up to us alone.

How to choose a lucky charm? Usually it picks you! Maybe you make an outstanding presentation and get a raise all in one day – that outfit might become your “lucky” outfit. Or maybe a favorite aunt gives you one of her bracelets and whenever you wear it good things seem to happen to you – that is now your “lucky” bracelet. If you want to create a lucky charm for yourself, look at what is meaningful to you. You might be attracted to a penny with the year of your birth on it. You may find an unusual stone on a vacation, which will remind you of how happy you were at that time.

Keep your lucky charm in a safe place where you can get to it easily. You might want to carry it with you all the time, like on a key ring, or in your wallet. Keep it private, don’t go telling everyone about it – lucky charms are luckiest when they are yours alone. Too often when other people find out about the charms, they laugh or belittle it. That just takes the magic away.