Lucky Us, it's Friday the 13th

Lucky Horseshoes are among many
"talismans" people use to get good
 luck.

Today at Healing Heroes we're wearing our red shirts for our troops and grasping our lucky horseshoes to ward away bad luck. If you didn't already know, today is Friday the 13th, the unluckiest day of the whole year! Or is it?


Friday the 13th has been deemed "unlucky" by Western culture since the 1800s. The reason this day is considered unlucky isn't exactly known, but there are a few theories (taken from wikipedia):

• In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

• Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys, begin new projects or deploy releases in production. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s.

Some people think breaking a mirror
will give you seven years bad luck.

In practice, Friday the 13th can be even luckier than other days because people take extra care in everything they do. Number of traffic accidents, fires, and thefts all tend to go down on Friday the 13th compared to other Fridays.


Whether Friday the 13th is really unlucky or not, it doesn't normally hurt to try and tip luck in your favor! Here are five tips to keep your luck "good" today.

1. Double check everything you do! This is good advice for every day, too. If you double check to see if  you locked your car or turned the stove off, you're eliminating the room for error and for bad things to happen.
2. Take your time. Rushing will make you forget important steps (or get you a speeding ticket). I've actually left my house and gotten into my car to go to work without shoes before. Because I was panicking and in a hurry, I ended up being even later. Do it right the first time, and "bad luck" won't happen.
3. Be prepared for the day. Pick out your clothes (and maybe even backups) the night before. Map out where you need to go that day to make the most of your time. Know when accidents happen, how you should deal with them. Being prepared for your day will make it so even if something unfortunate happens, you'll won't be flustered. Be like the boyscout, Always Prepared!
4. Keep a positive attitude. A lot of people fall prey to self-fulfilling prophecy. When you expect bad things to happen, they're much more likely to occur. Or, because you think today should be a bad day, you focus all the more on the bad aspects of it. Every day has its ups and downs; if you look for the positives and focus on them, you'll realize how much happier and better your life will be.
5. And lastly, it never helps to get karma on your side. Hold a door open for someone you don't know. Compliment a stranger. Maybe even donate a little money to an awesome veterans charity. 

What are you doing to keep your good luck going this Friday the 13th?