Most people know someone who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. They hear about a job opening before anyone else, meet the right person at the right moment, or stumble across opportunities that end up changing their lives. From the outside, it can look like pure luck. But psychologists have spent decades studying why some people appear luckier than others, and their findings suggest that what we call luck may often have more to do with how we think, pay attention and respond to the world around us.Luck may not be as random as it appearsOne of the earliest researchers to explore this idea was psychologist Ellen Langer. In 1975, Langer published her influential paper The Illusion of Control, which examined why people often believe they can influence outcomes that are actually determined by chance.Her research found that people tend to act as if random events are under their control. For example, people often prefer choosing their own lottery numbers rather than having numbers assigned to them, even though the odds remain exactly the same. In one of her studies, participants who selected their own lottery tickets valued those tickets much more highly than people who were simply handed a ticket.Langer described this tendency as an “illusion of control,” a cognitive bias that leads people to overestimate their ability to influence uncertain outcomes. Her studies also showed that factors such as familiarity, involvement, competition and choice can make people feel more confident, even when those factors have no real impact on the result.While this illusion can sometimes lead to poor decisions, particularly in areas such as gambling or investing, Langer's later work pointed toward something more useful: the role of attention and awareness.The power of noticing opportunitiesAccording to Langer, many people move through life on what feels like autopilot. Daily routines become so familiar that they stop paying close attention to what is happening around them. In contrast, mindfulness, not necessarily meditation but actively noticing new possibilities, can help people become more aware of opportunities they might otherwise miss.This idea gained further support from the work of British psychologist Richard Wiseman, who spent years studying people who described themselves as either lucky or unlucky.Wiseman found that people who considered themselves lucky were not necessarily experiencing more positive events than everyone else. Instead, they were more likely to notice opportunities, speak to unfamiliar people, try new experiences and act on possibilities that others ignored. They also tended to recover from setbacks more quickly.In simple terms, lucky people often create more chances for positive outcomes because they expose themselves to more opportunities in the first place.Why your brain filters what you seePsychologists say the human brain constantly processes far more information than we can consciously pay attention to. To cope, the brain filters information based on what it believes is important.A common example involves buying a car. If someone decides they want a green BMW, they suddenly begin noticing green BMWs everywhere. The number of green BMWs has not increased. What changes is attention.The same process can influence careers, relationships and personal goals. When people focus on a particular objective, they often become more aware of information, people and opportunities connected to it. What feels like luck may actually be the brain highlighting possibilities that were always present but previously ignored.When confidence becomes a problemThe psychology of luck also has a downside. The illusion of control can sometimes encourage overconfidence.Research has shown that people often exaggerate their ability to predict outcomes in areas such as investing, business and gambling. A 2003 study involving traders at major London investment banks found that those with a stronger tendency toward illusion of control generally earned lower profits and demonstrated weaker risk management.Business leaders can also fall into the same trap. Believing they have more control than they actually do may cause them to underestimate risks, ignore warning signs or assume early success guarantees future success.Langer's research found that early wins can be particularly misleading. When people experience success at the beginning of a task, they often start believing they possess special skill or insight, even when outcomes are largely determined by chance. This can reduce objectivity and make it harder to recognise mistakes.What psychology says about being luckyScientists have not found evidence that people can magically attract success through positive thinking alone. However, decades of psychological research suggest that attention, openness and resilience can increase the likelihood of encountering opportunities.People who stay curious, engage with new experiences, notice details and bounce back from disappointments place themselves in situations where positive outcomes become more likely.Luck, in this sense, may not be something that simply happens to a select few. It may often be the result of how people observe the world, what they choose to focus on and whether they are willing to act when opportunities appear.As research from psychologists such as Ellen Langer and Richard Wiseman suggests, what many people call luck may actually begin with something far simpler: paying attention.