Lucky Girl Syndrome is everywhere on TikTok, but what does neuroscience actually say about manifestation and positive thinking? In this full episode, we break down the real brain science behind affirmations, the reticular activating system, and optimism bias. Discover how neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin respond to positive affirmations, why your brain filters information to confirm your beliefs, and what research from Falk, Sharot, and Seligman reveals about self-fulfilling prophecies.

We explore where the trend goes wrong with toxic positivity and causal illusion. Learn how to leverage neuroplasticity and learned optimism in a balanced way that actually works. This episode separates the real neuroscience from the viral hype and gives you evidence-based strategies for building resilience, motivation, and opportunity recognition.

Featuring deep dives into brain imaging studies, placebo effects, and the evolutionary basis of the optimism bias.

Topics Covered:

• Self affirmation brain science fMRI studies
• Reticular activating system RAS attention filter
• Confirmation bias neuroscience research
• Neuroplasticity positive thinking brain rewiring
• Optimism bias hardwired brain evolution
• Learned optimism vs learned helplessness Seligman
• Toxic positivity mental health research
• Placebo effects expectancy brain mechanisms
• Causal illusion attribution error
• Evidence based mindset training strategies

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00:00- 00:17 Introduction

00:18- 01:07 Introduction to Lucky Girl Syndrome

01:08- 01:37 Defining Lucky Girl Syndrome

01:38- 04:54 The Science Behind Self-Affirmation

04:55- 06:59 The Role of the Reticular Activating System

07:00- 09:22 Confirmation Bias and Optimism Bias

09:23- 10:55 Neuroplasticity and Positive Thinking

10:56- 11:31 Safely

11:32- 13:47 Placebo Effect and Lucky Girl Syndrome

13:48- 15:33 Learned Helplessness vs. Learned Optimism

15:34- 18:42 Balancing Optimism with Action

18:43- 20:27 Maximizing the Benefits of Lucky Girl Syndrome

20:28- 24:05 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Mentioned in this episode:

Live Safely Sidekick

Is Lucky girl syndrome,

just wishful thinking.

2

Or is there actual brain science

behind consistently affirming

3

that I'm a lucky girl or that

opportunities will come my way?

4

The neuroscience is real, but the trend

lucky girl syndrome might oversimplify it.

5

We'll break down what actually happens

in your brain when you practice positive

6

affirmations plus the dark sides that

might come with toxic positivity,

7

welcome back to Wellness Fixes the Pod.

8

I'm your host, Dr.

9

Vic, a board certified orthopedic

doctor of physical therapy and a

10

pelvic floor physical therapist.

11

And I've seen this trend everywhere, so I

wanted it to do a deep dive on Lucky Girl

12

syndrome, what it is, the truths about it,

and talk about the neuroscience behind it.

13

So it's a fun sciencey episode based

on a trend that is going around that

14

follows sort of the manifestation idea

that the more I manifest something,

15

the more good things will happen to me.

16

So let's dive in.

17

What is Lucky Girl Syndrome?

18

, It's a manifestation based practice

where daily affirmations are practiced.

19

Like I'm so lucky.

20

Everything works out for me.

21

It's built on consistently affirming

luck and positive outcomes, so

22

we can actually trace lucky girl

23

self-fulfilling prophecy came about.

24

And I know a lot of us have heard

that term if you haven't heard Lucky

25

Girl syndrome, but a self-fulfilling

prophecy is a prediction that

26

influences behavior in ways that

causes the prediction to come true.

27

So what is the actual science

behind Lucky Girl syndrome?

28

Are there actual brain changes that

happen to affect our behavior in

29

our outcomes and the opportunities

that come our way by consistently

30

affirming that we are lucky girls?

31

Let's talk about two super cool

studies on self affirmation.

32

The first one done by Falk Etal in 20

15, 20 16, and they did brain imaging

33

during self affirmation practices in

sedentary individuals who were resistant

34

to health behavior change, and that health

behavior change was physical activity

35

so they took these sedentary individuals

and put them through self affirmation

36

practices focused on their core values.

37

So things like creativity

is one of my core values.

38

When I express myself through art

or writing, I feel most alive.

39

I value perseverance when

faced with challenges.

40

I remind myself of times I overcame

obstacles and proved my resilience.

41

So they took these sedentary

individuals first through these

42

self-affirmation practices based

on their core values after they

43

presented them with education, based on

44

What could happen to their bodies

should they stay sedentary?

45

And again, remember, these are

super resistant individuals

46

to physical activity.

47

Then the researchers mapped what areas

lit up in the brain during this education.

48

So they found that.

49

Self-affirmation increases activity in

brain regions associated with positive

50

valuation, so the brain's ability to

assign a positive reward or outcome

51

with a certain behavior, future oriented

affirmations were extra effective

52

at activating those brain regions.

53

They also found that these self

affirmation practices actually

54

reward the brain, so they're

heavily tied to our dopamine system.

55

Our motivation, reward pursuit system.

56

In another study by Cascio Etal in

57

brain regions during high priority

self-affirmation versus low priority

58

self affirmations and high priority.

59

Are those tied to your

priority core values?

60

Low priority are those tied to values

that aren't as high up on your list.

61

So they found that self affirmations

focused on those high priority values

62

and core values, activated regions in the

brain associated with reward processing

63

. They also found that future

oriented affirmations were powerful

64

And they found that the behavior

change that followed from these

65

practices was actually due to

those self affirmation practices.

66

They took sedentary individuals to

see whether or not they would perform

67

physical activity after, or be more

likely to perform physical activity

68

after these self affirmation practices.

69

And they also found that self

affirmation practices help to.

70

Create meaningful behavior change

in the form of physical activity for

71

sedentary individuals who are extremely

resistant to that behavior change.

72

So why do these studies actually matter

to Lucky Girl Syndrome, even if you

73

are resistant to change in your life?

74

These studies show that the most resistant

individuals still benefited from these

75

self-affirmation practices within their

brain that elicited behavior change after.

76

We also find that high priority core

value affirmations are most effective in

77

addition to future oriented affirmations.

78

So these are two pretty landmark

studies that actually showed how self

79

affirmations affect our brains, not just

through self affirmation practice and

80

behavior change, but actually mapping

the brain to see what areas lit up.

81

Speaking of the brain, let's talk

about a very key component in

82

Lucky Girl syndrome and in just

filtering out certain information

83

that we're presented with every day.

84

Let's talk about the reticular activating

system, which is like your brain's filter.

85

So it's a network of nerve pathways

in the brainstem, and it acts As your

86

brain's gatekeeper for information.

87

So we are presented with so much

information throughout the day and moment

88

by moment, even the temperature, even

little particles of air that pass over us.

89

We are presented with all of that

information and the reticular activating

90

system helps us decide what to focus on.

91

So in daily life, you might notice this

in this silly cyber truck example, but

92

let's say you buy a cyber truck, or in my

case, my nephews love cyber trucks and I

93

know that my nephews love cyber trucks.

94

And now every time I look around, I see

a cyber truck and it's not necessarily

95

that there are more cyber trucks

on the road now, it's just that my

96

reticular activating system, my RAS.

97

Is queued to notice those more because I

now have this emotional significance to a

98

cyber truck because I know that my nephews

really enjoy viewing a cyber truck.

99

So we can think of it like selective

attention, not necessarily magic.

100

Just because I'm thinking of cyber

trucks does not mean that more

101

cyber trucks are on the roads.

102

It just means that my brain

is actually queued to look

103

for those a little bit more.

104

So when you affirm that I'm lucky or good

things happen to me, or opportunities

105

come my way, the RAS actually activates

your brain starts scanning for

106

evidence that confirms this belief.

107

You notice opportunities, connections,

and positive moments that you might have.

108

Previously filtered out.

109

So there's a power in this.

110

You do actually notice more

opportunities and more good things

111

that come your way when your RAS is

queued for this lucky girl syndrome.

112

However, there's also a little bit

of a pitfall in that it can also

113

selectively filter out opposing

views to that Lucky Girl syndrome.

114

So it's this selective attention.

115

Where you notice more

opportunities and are ignoring

116

any threats that go against that.

117

I am lucky.

118

Good opportunities come my way.

119

Affirmations.

120

So this can lead to confirmation

bias, and I know a lot of us have

121

heard about confirmation bias and

understood it, but it's a very real

122

thing when it comes to lucky girl

syndrome and how our brain is actually

123

filtering out information, deciding

what to prioritize and what to ignore.

124

So confirmation bias is the

brain's tendency to seek,

125

interpret, and favor information

that confirms existing beliefs.

126

And on the flip side, it also

dismisses or downplays any beliefs or

127

experiences that contradict our beliefs.

128

So there was a study done in 2020 that

actually found there's an unbalanced

129

scale when it comes to confirmation bias.

130

So the brain actually significantly

updates beliefs and expectations when

131

we experience another opportunity

or thing in our environment that

132

confirms our existing beliefs.

133

So there's a major upside towards.

134

Those beliefs that we already have

when we're faced with something that

135

contradicts those beliefs, the brain

actually downplays that a little bit.

136

So it is on our side.

137

It cheers us on for

those confirming beliefs.

138

But then it also might hide

or might downplay some of

139

those contradicting beliefs.

140

So it's an unbalanced scale and the

brain's basically selectively filtering

141

what we confirm versus what contradicts

what our existing beliefs are.

142

So essentially the brain might

downplay what we consider bad news

143

because it goes against our existing

beliefs and it might up play good news

144

that confirms our existing beliefs.

145

So in highly optimistic people,

the right inferior frontal gyrus

146

shows reduced activity when

receiving negative information.

147

So the brain literally dampens the

signals for setbacks, and it creates

148

a selective filtering of this reality.

149

So for those of you guys who do

participate in the Lucky Girl

150

affirmations, you remember the good

things, confirmation of your affirmations.

151

You rationalize or forget the bad things.

152

It was temporary.

153

The universe is teaching me this.

154

Feels real because the brain is actually

processing that information differently.

155

So it's a good thing in that it reaffirms

usually some of those uplifting beliefs,

156

but it's also a bad thing because you

lose objective assessment of situations

157

because your brain's actually processing

negative information differently

158

than that positive information.

159

So this can possibly lead

to poor decision making and.

160

Just not looking at a situation

from the whole picture,

161

because your brain's literally

processing it in a different way.

162

Switching gears a little bit to

neuroplasticity and positive thinking.

163

Does positive thinking

actually change our brains?

164

We know that it lights up certain areas,

but can it actually rewire certain

165

pathways, certain existing pathways

that we already have in our brains?

166

So what is neuroplasticity?

167

The brain's ability to physically

reorganize and form new neural

168

connections throughout life.

169

So our brain is plastic.

170

It's adaptable.

171

It actually can change depending

on what inputs it receives.

172

So it's been shown that repeated

positive affirmations strengthen neural

173

pathways associated with optimism.

174

So we can think of it like

exercising a mental muscle.

175

You guys know I talk a lot about physical

muscle building and how our nerves connect

176

to our muscles in order to contract the

muscles and how the first little bit of

177

strength gains that we might experience

in a physical activity program or a

178

strength training program is actually not.

179

More muscle cells or an increase in muscle

size, it's actually better connection

180

between our nerves and our muscles.

181

We can think of that when it comes to

neuroplasticity and positive affirmations.

182

Research on synaptic plasticity

shows positive thinking, literally

183

increases synaptic connections, and

brain imaging shows strength in neural

184

pathways with consistent practice.

185

This is why fake it till you make,

it has some scientific basis.

186

You're rewiring your brain.

187

as far as the timeline goes,

it does not happen overnight.

188

We need a consistent practice to

help rewire our brains and use those

189

positive affirmations to create

meaningful change within our brains.

190

And there's of course, genetic and

individual variation within how

191

plastic our brains actually are.

192

So we've talked a lot about optimism

and how positive affirmations can

193

actually strengthen the neural pathways

associated with optimism and how

194

optimistic individuals see opportunities

and good things happening to them, but

195

might also have a brain that filters

out more negative information or dampens

196

some of the bad news that we might get.

197

So what is optimism bias?

198

80% of humans have a natural tendency

to overestimate positive outcomes

199

and underestimate negative ones.

200

And this, again, is in our brains.

201

It's actually our brains that

help to control how much we pay

202

attention to good news and how

little we pay attention to bad news.

203

So there's a few different brain regions

involved, but two of the primary The

204

rostral anterior cingulate cortex,

the RACC, and that region monitors

205

subjective importance of future events.

206

And then there's the amygdala,

and we've talked about the

207

amygdala a lot, but it processes

emotions related to future events.

208

So there's strong connections between

both of these areas when we are future

209

oriented with those positive affirmations.

210

So study down in 2007 found that

the RA CC shows more activation.

211

When people imagine positive

versus negative events, the

212

stronger the RACC activation,

the more optimistic the person.

213

And they conclude that this might

actually be an evolutionary advantage.

214

The more optimistic we are, the more

likely we are to pursue certain goals

215

and go after certain things like food

216

Whereas pure pessimism might actually

lead to paralysis and depression and just

217

challenges with pursuing certain goals.

218

The brain having evolved with a

bias of optimism actually helps us

219

continue moving, continue evolving,

continuing to pursue certain goals.

220

So in folks with depression,

they actually lose optimism bias.

221

They exhibit depressive realism,

more accurate, but maybe more

222

pessimistic interpretation of

what's going on around them.

223

And this actually shows that this system

is real since it does break down during

224

mental health challenges like depression.

225

So we can't talk about all of these,

cause and effects Lucky girl syndrome,

226

positive affirmations, optimism

without at least mentioning placebo.

227

Placebo effects are a massive part of

how our minds influence our bodies.

228

So how do placebos work

from a basic standpoint?

229

You have an expectation.

230

There are changes that happen in your

brain chemistry with that expectation

231

that elicits a physical change.

232

So FMRI studies, brain studies,

brain imaging studies shows that

233

the placebo actually activates the

actual reward system in the brain.

234

And that reward system heavily

utilizes dopamine, which can

235

help activate naturally occurring

opioid systems within our body.

236

So that can lead to reduced pain, better

immune function, lower stress hormones.

237

And that is this overarching perspective

of how placebo and how our expectation,

238

even if it's not really there,

influences a change in our bodies.

239

so there are of course a lot of

studies done on placebo, but a

240

few ones That I wanna highlight,

especially for this episode.

241

Hotel housekeepers told that

their job counted as exercise

242

actually lost weight, despite not

even having any behavior change.

243

They were still doing their same

job description, but once they

244

were told that it was exercise,

they actually lost weight.

245

Patients given fake cream

by very friendly, competent

246

doctors, rashes were improved.

247

So these expectations are when we're

told something and we're given this

248

education on something and we truly

believe it, that can change the outcome.

249

Whether it's a behavior change, a

physiology change, a neurological

250

change, there is a real way that placebo

works within our brains and bodies.

251

So for Lucky Girl Syndrome,

your expectation of luck

252

activates similar brain systems.

253

This can genuinely improve

health markers and motivation.

254

If we perceive that we're lucky and we

expect to be lucky, this can actually

255

have a cascading effect on the rest of

our brain and body and how it functions.

256

But it's not actually necessarily,

Manifesting an external reality or

257

changes external to you, it's an internal

change that happens because of your

258

internal expectation, not outwardly.

259

We are getting into a lot of neuroscience

today, and psychology concepts.

260

So let's talk about learned

helplessness versus learned optimism,

261

and any of you guys who were in.

262

Psych 1 0 1 or Psych 1 0

2, like those very intro

263

psychology courses in undergrad.

264

know about learned helplessness, but

I don't know if I really remember

265

talking about learned optimism, but

learned optimism definitely plays

266

a role in Lucky girl syndrome.

267

So what is learned Helplessness.

268

So there's foundational learned

helplessness research that talks

269

about how repeated failure affects

motivation and mental health.

270

When people experience repeated failure

or lack of control, they begin to

271

believe they actually have no control,

which perseverates the cycle of

272

not actually putting in any effort.

273

Learned optimism is the antidote.

274

It's teaching people to challenge

negative thoughts when they come adopting.

275

Patterns that help them explain

negative thought patterns and

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view them as temporary setbacks

versus This is who I am.

277

This is a part of me.

278

This is never gonna change.

279

And learned optimism can be

learned and practiced to help

280

as the antidote to learned help.

281

So how does all this talk on Lucky Girl

syndrome actually relate to learned

282

optimism and learned helplessness?

283

Practicing I'm a lucky girl

is a form of learned optimism.

284

It reframes situations more positively

and shifts from helplessness.

285

To more of your own agency.

286

You have control over how lucky you

are and the opportunities that you

287

partake in that create this lucky girl.

288

however, just saying it doesn't

replace action and effort.

289

We can't just use, I'm a lucky

girl to lead to learned optimism.

290

To create change, we actually need

to still put in that action effort.

291

However, it does increase the

likelihood that you will take action.

292

So where does the Lucky Girl

syndrome trend go wrong?

293

And I think.

294

My primary concern with it is the fact

that we are using verbal or written

295

affirmations to manifest an external

reality, and that's just not the case.

296

We've seen that verbal affirmations,

especially positive ones, related

297

to core values that are future

oriented can rewire our brains.

298

That's an internal change, but

what we also fail to recognize

299

with Lucky Girl Syndrome is.

300

The external environment and the

opportunities and the circumstances and

301

the friends and the internal changes that

happen to get us to be that lucky girl.

302

So think about a recent job

promotion, or for me grad school,

303

if I thought, oh my gosh, I'm so

lucky because I got into PT school.

304

That is discrediting my hard work.

305

All of the mentors that got me

there, all of my friends that helped

306

push me through those hard times.

307

It's not necessarily that

I said I'm a lucky girl.

308

I got into PT school.

309

It's that I put in the

hard work and effort.

310

I had mentors and different friends

and my family to push me along the way.

311

, It's a whole lot bigger than just

saying these verbal words and

312

expecting change to occur external

to us and external to our hard work.

313

So this is called causal illusion,

but it's when people perceive causal

314

relationships between unrelated events.

315

So I affirm something and

then this good thing happened.

316

The affirmation actually caused

this good thing to happen,

317

when in reality, success and reaching

our goals and becoming a lucky girl

318

has multiple factors that go into it.

319

Luck, privilege, effort,

timing, skills, support systems.

320

So when people attribute everything

to mindset, they miss the

321

other factors that go into it.

322

So I think the sweet spot between

complete lucky girl syndrome and

323

actually maximizing the way that

our brains are structured and the

324

neuroscience that goes into it

should be called balanced optimism.

325

So this is not positive

thinking without action.

326

This is positive thinking with action

and research actually supports this,

327

and it actually also supports that

positive affirmations with action is

328

better than negativity and negative

thoughts with that same action.

329

So positive affirmations do help.

330

So we do want realistic optimism.

331

We want to not be so shielded from

the bad news that might come our way.

332

We also want to recognize

certain emotions that come up,

333

even if they are contradicting

to that lucky girl's syndrome.

334

It's okay to be sad.

335

It's okay to be angry.

336

Lucky girls are sad,

lucky girls are angry.

337

But we need to understand that negative

emotions don't need to be pushed away

338

because I do feel like lucky girl syndrome

can have this aura of toxic positivity.

339

Action.

340

Action.

341

Action.

342

That's another key component.

343

We need to be action

oriented self-compassion.

344

We also need to be able to be kind to

ourselves when things don't work out and

345

not flip to those learned helplessness

behaviors of this didn't work out.

346

Nothing's ever gonna work out.

347

I can't change anything

that happens to me.

348

We need to be a little bit

cautious of switching to that

349

learned helplessness perspective,

350

and I also think it's important to

recognize your hard work and effort

351

and the support systems, the external

environment, the timing of things

352

happening that got you to whatever

goal you are trying to reach.

353

So if Lucky Girl Syndrome and the

neuroscience behind this trend appeals

354

to you, here's a way to maximize

some of how your brain works with

355

this trend of Lucky Girl syndrome.

356

Number one, leverage the reticular

activating system intentionally

357

set clear specific intentions,

not just luck, but actually like

358

smart, attainable, measurable goals.

359

And your brain will help you notice

certain opportunities that come your

360

way or certain experiences that might

affirm what your intentions are, but you

361

have to take actual action from them.

362

Just noticing them is not going

to help them come to fruition.

363

In order to build actual

neural pathways with positive

364

affirmations, consistency matters.

365

We need to tie these

affirmations to core values.

366

Remember, those high priority

values are the ones that create

367

those deeper, stronger connections.

368

We wanna use future oriented language.

369

So an example is my skills

and hard work attract good

370

opportunities, not just I'm lucky.

371

Number three, use positive affirmations

as motivation, not replacement for effort.

372

Let them boost confident and

motivation, but follow through

373

with actual concrete actions.

374

They're a tool for mental

health and not a magic spell.

375

Number four, stay emotionally authentic.

376

Allow negative emotions when they arise,

Process them rather than suppressing

377

them and use them as information.

378

What am I actually learning from this?

379

Understanding that it is also temporary.

380

Acknowledge, reality, effort,

skill, timing, and circumstance.

381

All matter.

382

So does luck, but there are external

systemic factors that go into play.

383

And number six, combine it with all the

other practices that help to influence

384

our bodies and brains as a whole.

385

Things like exercise, sleep,

quality, relationships.

386

All of those also go into play.

387

So the bottom line, here's

what we know from neuroscience

388

about Lucky Girl syndrome.

389

Your thoughts literally

change your brain structure.

390

Positive affirmations activate reward

centers and can shift attention.

391

Optimism is partially

hardwired, but can be learned.

392

And expectations genuinely influence

outcomes like the placebo effect showed.

393

What neuroscience doesn't support

pure magical thinking mindset is the

394

only factor in success, replacement

of action with affirmation and

395

suppression of negative emotions.

396

So I'm a lucky girl can work if

you understand it as I'm going to

397

intentionally notice the opportunities

that can help me create my own luck

398

through the actions that I'm going

to perform, but it won't work.

399

If it means I'll sit back and

good things will come to me.

400

It has to have action.

401

The most powerful version of Lucky Girl

Syndrome combines positive affirmations,

402

positive mindset with action.

403

So you can train your brain to be more

resilient, motivated, and opportunity

404

conscious through activating certain brain

regions that make you more goal-driven,

405

more pursuit driven, more reward driven,

and also alerting certain parts of your

406

brain, the filter of your brain to see

different opportunities, but also realize

407

that with some of that optimism comes a

little bit of a dampening of some of the.

408

Bad news or contradictory evidence

that we might get presented with.

409

And always remember that mindset

needs to be followed by action.

410

It's not mindset alone.

411

So I hope you guys enjoyed this

deep dive into Lucky Girl syndrome.

412

I know I loved pulling all the

research and learning about the

413

actual neuroscience involved in

creating some of these brain changes.

414

It's a nice little refresher.

415

Based on a very popular trend right now.

416

So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode

and I'll see you guys again on the

417

next episode of Wellness Fix the Pod.