Daily habit that combated bitter and angry woman I’d become

Jana Hocking says women of a certain age are guilty of falling into a dangerous trap – but she’s found the perfect antidote.

Jana Hocking on Lucky Girl Syndrome for dating. Picture: Instagram.

There’s a highly unpopular but true fact, it happens to a woman when she hits her late 30s as a singleton. She becomes a little bitter. Now I don’t say this with malice because I am that woman. Well, at least recently I’ve noticed I’m becoming her.

I’ve discovered that when I talk about dating there is a twinge of regret, or anger, or simply annoyance in my voice. Men only want to date younger women, men are flaky, men are happy to leave you on ‘read’ blah blah blah. The thing is though … it’s not exactly true.

Yes, there are some men out there like that, but certainly not all of them. As can be attested by the many friends of mine who have coupled up in their 30s.

Just last month, a dear friend who met her fella during lockdown announced they’re having a baby. She’s a brilliant woman, and he’s a great guy, and guess what … this happens all the time.

So when I stumbled upon a slightly hilarious technique that has gone viral on TikTok (we’re talking 195 MILLION views), I thought, well it certainly can’t hurt. At this stage, I’ll try anything to stop me becoming that horribly clichéd, bitter woman we see in tragically outdated rom coms.

So stick with me here while I explain it to you, because it’s a little bit woo woo, and it will require you to keep an open mind … but it’s called ‘Lucky Girl Syndrome’.

The concept is very simple, you simply tell yourself you’re lucky – so lucky that only good things happen to you. Then the theory is that all your dreams come true!

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I know it sounds bonkers, but what it’s actually doing is completely changing your mindset. It’s taking you out of that ‘negative Nancy’ state you currently find yourself in and rewiring your brain to believe that brilliant things are happening to you.

And if you go by the comments left under viral Lucky Girl Syndrome videos, it basically comes with a ‘money back’ guarantee. People who have tried this manifestation technique rave about the new opportunities that have come their way. Here’s the thing though – are they new opportunities or are they opportunities you’ve never noticed before because they were going through life with a ‘meh’ kinda attitude?

Jana Hocking has been manifesting Lucky Girl Syndrome with great results. Picture: Instagram.

I decided to jump back on the apps, which I have avoided for a long time, and give this ‘lucky girl’ attitude a go. Over the last week I’ve been on three dates and walked away from all of them with a good sense of accomplishment.

I wasn’t going into the dates judgmental and expecting the worse. I went into them thinking ‘I deserve to meet a good person’ and looking for the best in them. It’s like guys can sense your happy-go-lucky vibe, because the dates were super chill, lots of laughs and not too sound super cheesy, but they were quite joyous.

Do I want to marry all of them? No. Well not yet. But did I find things in them that sparked joy, definitely.

This might sound a bit duuuuuh, but perhaps I’ve found the secret to a successful date: Walking in with the right attitude i.e. Lucky Girl Syndrome.

Seriously, you know when someone loud, fun and energetic walks into a room and you just want to be friends with them … well that’s what this syndrome turns you into. Symptoms include: high serotonin, smiles, laughs and a wicked sense of humour.

I got a text from one of the guys after our date saying ‘that’s the most I’ve laughed in a long time, can’t wait to do it again.’ It put the biggest smile on my face and made me realise that the whole ‘lucky girl syndrome’ may actually be working.

So seriously, if you’ve found yourself a little down in the dumps lately, give this technique a go. I mean, what have you got to lose?

Jana Hocking is a columnist and collector of kind-of-boyfriends | @jana_hocking

Originally published as Daily habit that combated bitter and angry woman I’d become