The Truth Behind TikTok’s “Lucky Girl Syndrome” Trend

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The more you scroll on TikTok, the more new trends start appearing on your “For You” page. One of the newest trends on the popular video-sharing app is what many users have lovingly dubbed, “Lucky Girl Syndrome.” 

Users who believe they have been diagnosed with “Lucky Girl Syndrome” will post videos of themselves on the platform saying affirmations to manifest whatever their heart desires. Some affirmations include, “I will get a raise,” “I will inherit a large amount of money,” “I will meet a loving partner,” “I will pass my classes,” and almost anything else that you could possibly think of. 

The craziest part? These users claim that their affirmations work no matter the circumstances, and they urge other users to do the same. Is this a crazy new life hack, or is this generation of TikTokers just narcissistic?

To unpack this trend and find the truth, we must first discuss the histories of manifestation and affirmations. Although these concepts have recently gained popularity on TikTok, they’ve actually been around for longer than you may think.

Self-affirmations were first popularized in the 1920s. A recent study from Carnegie Mellon reveals that self-affirmations can protect against the damaging effects of stress on problem-solving performance, and self-affirmations also enhance our task-related performances.

Now, as affirmations have developed into their modern-day form, I believe that this trend is relatively harmless. For example, simple affirmations like “I will pass my exam tomorrow” or “I will get promoted at work” are not inherently narcissistic because they are simply demonstrating self-confidence. If you are actively working to achieve these goals, using simple affirmations to supplement your hard work is an easy way to build confidence.  Since repeating a phrase so many times can really make you believe it, when repeating positive phrases about yourself, affirmations can be very powerful. 

Additionally, I do not believe that this trend is inherently narcissistic. Repeating a few simple phrases of positive aspects about yourself is only a healthy display of your own self-worth. Of course, there will always be outliers and people who take the affirmations too far by believing that they are perfect, can do no wrong and can achieve their greatest goals without doing any work. This, of course, is narcissism.  

When people believe that they don’t have to do any work to reach their goals, and can instead just make videos to achieve them is when the issue arises. Again, it is great to use manifesting and affirmations as a confidence boost for things like job promotions and passing tests, but if you aren’t actively putting in the work to achieve these goals, it is highly unlikely that the power of “Lucky Girl Syndrome” will help you through your struggles.

In an article from BBC, psychologist Dr. Carolyne Keenan stated her professional opinion on the trend. "There are going to be, unfortunately, some situations in life that we are not able to manifest and think our way out of," she says. "I would be concerned about people being in situations where maybe that's not going to be an effective strategy."

I have definitely not been diagnosed with “Lucky Girl Syndrome,” but I do have some interest in trying it out. I suggest you give it a shot if you have at least some interest in the concept, just don’t expect affirmations like “I will win the lottery” to come true. But trying out simple phrases such as “I will have a great day” and “I look great today” are fun confidence boosters that can hopefully enhance your everyday life! Whether you are a “lucky girl” or not, it’s always interesting to take a deep dive into the newest Tiktok trend.