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Yesterday wasn t a great day for me.
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It all started when I showed up to my morning workout class and
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And I realized that I had been booked on the 13th treadmill.
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Let me explain.
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The workout class I do is sort of a bootcamp.
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There are treadmill stations, there are weight stations, and each treadmill and each weight station has a number.
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And when you go online to book your class, you have to choose where you want to be in the room.
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And so you re basically just choosing a number.
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Now, when you re booking the class, you have control over where you want to be in the room.
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You have control over what number treadmill or weight station you choose.
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It s fully up to you.
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When I booked this class, I just sort of blindly chose one treadmill.
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I was like, I ll just go on this treadmill, whatever.
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I didn t even think twice about it.
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I didn t even look at the number.
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I show up yesterday morning and I pull up my phone to see what number I m on.
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And I m like, oh my God, I chose the 13th treadmill.
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And then I walk into the class and I see the treadmill with a big number 13 on it.
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And I was like, fuck, this is bad luck.
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Now for the rest of today, I m gonna have bad luck because this is not a lucky number.
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This is an unlucky number.
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And I m starting my day by running on top of an unlucky number.
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I don t even know why my brain works like this.
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I don t even know where I got the idea that the number 13 was unlucky.
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I can t even explain this train of thought yet.
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In the back of my mind, I was obsessing over the fact that I accidentally chose the 13th treadmill in my workout class and I started to convince myself that the rest of my day would be cursed.
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Well, it gets worse.
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So after my workout class, I get in my car and I drive home.
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On the way home, I see on the side of the road a dead black cat.
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Okay, now I m really freaking out because black cats are supposed to be bad luck and
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I don t know, if I do the math in my head, a dead black cat is really bad luck.
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I m cursed today.
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I might die today, actually.
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This might be my last day.
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I m having all this anxiety about these bad omens, and I don t even know where I got those ideas from.
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Who told me that 13 was unlucky?
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I can t even remember.
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Who told me that black cats were unlucky?
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I can t even remember.
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Do I even believe that those things are bad luck?
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Deeply to my core, no.
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But because there s stigma around the number 13 in black cats being bad luck, I weirdly believe it without even questioning it.
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I realized yesterday that I am very superstitious.
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And I didn t even realize I was, like I sort of knew I was, but I d never really thought about it.
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It took an anxiety filled day for me to realize that I m really superstitious and I don t even know why.
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And I don t even know if it s serving me in my life.
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Spoiler alert, I actually don t think it is serving me in my life.
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I think it s actually very unhealthy for me.
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Before we continue,
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Let s define what superstitions are.
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A superstition is a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event or a practice based on such a belief.
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Basically, superstitions are items or rituals that can cause an event without being rationally tied to it.
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Like, for example, finding a four-leaf clover, which is an object that s considered to be good luck, and then a week later getting your dream job.
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It s like, you probably just worked hard for your dream job.
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That four leaf clover was a coincidence.
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Like, it s irrational to say that finding the four leaf clover got you your dream job.
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It s rational to say, I worked really hard, I networked really hard, I met the right people, I got in the right rooms, and I got my dream job.
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It s connecting something that s completely unrelated to something else that happened in reality, you know?
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I am definitely superstitious.
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It is undeniable.
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I m superstitious in mainstream ways, clearly shown by me feeling like it was unlucky to be on the 13th treadmill at my workout class and me thinking it was unlucky to pass by a black cat dead on the side of the road.
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Those are very popular superstitions, but I m also superstitious on a more personal level.
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Like, I believe certain objects are good luck.
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I believe in angel numbers to an extent, whether I want to admit it or not.
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Like,
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when I see the same number on the clock every day, I believe that the universe is protecting me or something.
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And that s proof.
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You know, angels or something are trying to speak to me through reoccurring numbers on the clock or on a receipt or whatever.
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When I was an athlete in high school, I always had pre-competition rituals
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I m definitely superstitious.
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And at times it s a gift.
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You know, when I m going through a challenging time and I see something that I consider to be a good omen, like I see my lucky number, I see a shooting star, a ladybug lands on my hand, I see a rainbow, I feel like I m on the right track.
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I feel like things are going to be okay.
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I feel like the universe is on my side and it can be incredibly comforting during challenging times.
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But being superstitious can also be a curse, no pun intended.
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If I see something that I consider to be bad luck, it can either ruin a totally good day or make a bad day worse.
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For example, I see a number that I think is unlucky.
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I jinx something and I m not able to knock on wood three times with the left hand.
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Where did I even learn that?
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Knock on wood three times with the left hand to undo a jinx.
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Like where did I even learn that?
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It s ridiculous.
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I see a dead animal.
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I accidentally walk under a ladder.
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I accidentally break a mirror and look at myself in the mirror.
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By the way, some of those things have never even happened, but it s unfortunate because
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Something that is completely mundane can ruin a decent day or make a bad day worse just because I believe it s bad luck.
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It can cause anxiety for me.
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It can cause me to spiral for no reason.
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It s terrible.
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And what s so interesting is that it clearly impacts me emotionally, right?
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I clearly live by superstitions in a way that is not insignificant.
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I take my superstitions to heart, and yet I ve never taken a step back and analyzed the legitimacy of them.
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But what s funny to me is I don t have to think about it very long to realize, oh, wait, this is stupid.
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Like, what am I doing?
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I think what s the most dangerous part of superstitions is that it s mainly subconscious.
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A lot of us gather superstitions in our minds over the course of our lives.
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And they live in the back of our minds without us even really realizing that they re there.
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Like if somebody had asked me a month ago if I was superstitious, I d be like, I don t know, not really.
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Because a lot of it was happening subconsciously.
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This is something I probably should talk to with a therapist, right?
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Right.
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Cause this could be something deeper, but a lot of people I know are superstitious, which is why I feel less vulnerable coming on here and talking about it.
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I have friends that knock on wood to not jinx something I have
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who throw salt over their shoulder for good luck.
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I have friends who have good luck charms that they carry around with them everywhere.
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I have friends who will not walk under a ladder because it s considered bad luck.
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I have friends who have not adopted a black cat because black cats are bad luck.
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Majority of office buildings don t have a 13th floor.
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Majority of hotels don t have a 13th floor.
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because it s considered bad luck.
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I didn t even realize this until I read about it on Instagram or something, that most buildings don t have a 13th floor.
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And I was like, that can t be true.
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And then I started paying attention and I have not seen a building with a 13th floor since.
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I am not kidding.
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Part of me wonders if there s something wrong with me for
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the way I so illogically take superstition seriously, but at the same time, I know I m not the only one.
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I see it out there in the world with my friends and with office buildings and hotels who skip the 13th floor.
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It s not just me, right?
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I became curious why humans are superstitious.
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And so I obviously Googled it.
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And what I found was superstitions provide a sense of control and a lot of times can reduce anxiety, which is why a lot of times levels of superstition increase at times of stress.
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A good example of that would be me yesterday.
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If I was having a great day, I probably wouldn t have even noticed
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that I had ended up on the 13th treadmill, I probably wouldn t have even noticed the black cat dead on the side of the road.
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It s almost like because I was in a state of stress yesterday, just naturally, just as a result of my current circumstance in life.
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I was almost looking for an explanation for my stress, for my bad fortune, in a way.
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And in a weird way, maybe my brain was trying to search for bad omens to explain my bad fortune or stress to try to relieve anxiety.
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Life is just simply unfair, right?
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Bad shit happens to us.
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Challenging things happen to us for no reason sometimes.
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And I think that makes us uncomfortable as humans.
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We love an explanation.
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We love a reason.
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But sometimes there is no reason.
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Bad shit, challenging shit just happens.
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In a weird way, I think associating unfortunate moments in life with bad omens, things that are bad luck, help us piece together a story that can weirdly relieve our anxiety in our minds.
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Now, that s in terms of bad luck.
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When it comes to good luck,
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I think it s very similar.
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You know, a lot of times we feel like
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we can t control whether or not good things happen to us.
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And by clinging on to good luck charms or participating in rituals that bring good luck, we feel like we re able to control whether or not good things happen to us.
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Again, it gives us control over our lives.
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Ultimately, superstitions are all about control, which is something that we as humans really like.
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And interestingly enough, I really like.
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I m a control freak.
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This is not new.
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I am a very, very, very deeply, deeply anxious person because I have a really hard time with the fact that there s a lot that I can t control.
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It makes a lot of sense that I m particularly superstitious.
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Another reason why humans are superstitious is because it can be easy to convince yourself that your superstition is actually real, rooted in reality.
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I ll give you an example.
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Let s say you re going in to write an essay at school and you decide to bring your lucky penny that your grandma gave you when you were a kid.
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You go into school, you write your essay, you turn it in, you look down at your lucky penny and you re like, I hope you did something.
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A week later, you get your grade back and you got an A plus.
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You doubted yourself.
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You thought you were gonna get an F. You thought you were gonna fail this essay.
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You thought you were gonna get a terrible, terrible grade.
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You convinced yourself that the reason why you got that A plus was because you had that lucky penny in your pocket.
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Another example would be, let s say you believe that walking under a ladder is bad luck.
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That s a very common superstition, walking under a ladder, bad luck.
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Let s say you walk under a ladder on accident.
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In a week later, your cat gets hit by a car and dies.
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And then I see it when I m driving home from my workout class.
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And then I think it s bad luck.
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And then everybody thinks they have bad luck.
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No, I m kidding.
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you might now connect you walking under that ladder to your cat dying.
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Do you see what I m saying?
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We create our own reality in so many ways, and so if we want to believe something, we ll find a way to make it true a lot of times.
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It s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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A self-fulfilling prophecy is
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a false expectation that leads to its own confirmation.
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An individual s expectations about another person or entity eventually result in the other person or entity acting in ways that confirm the expectations.
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So that s why humans are superstitious.
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Researching that really put things into context for me.
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But then I became curious about
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all of the mainstream superstitions that we all share.
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Obviously, it depends on where you live, et cetera, but a lot of us share the same superstitions.
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I became curious about their origins because I was like, I have a feeling that if I read up on the origins of these superstitions, I will end up no longer believing in them.
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Where did it start?
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Because if it didn t start from a respectable place in the sense that it s not rooted in reality, then why am I living by it?
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So thanks to artsandculture.google.com, I found the origin for almost every mainstream superstition.
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Let s go through them.
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Let s start with black cats.
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Though cats have been associated with good luck rather than its opposite, and were even worshiped as gods in ancient Egypt, people of the Middle Ages burned black cats in bonfires on holy days like Shrove Tuesday, the first Sunday of Lent, and even Easter, and with the Puritans in America connecting them to the practice of witchcraft.
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Apparently,
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It was a belief in medieval Europe that the devil and witches were capable of taking form of black hats.
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So that s obviously just not true, right?
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And the thing that s so funny about it is I knew that.
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I m a cat lover myself.
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I have two cats at home.
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Neither of them are black cats.
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But it s so bizarre to me because I would adopt a black cat.
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Like I have nothing against black cats.
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The only reason why seeing that black cat dead on the side of the road spooked me was because I was looking for bad omens.
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Does that make sense?
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Like, I was looking for bad luck.
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On a normal day, seeing a black cat on the side of the road would have just been sad.
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I don t think I would have thought twice about it.
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I don t know, it s hard to say.
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I m realizing more and more how my superstitions are very inconsistent.
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Like, I would adopt a black cat if I fell in love with a black cat, whatever.
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But on a bad day when I am expecting to be cursed that day, seeing
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a black hat on the side of the road dead freaked me the fuck out.
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It s just interesting how inconsistent it can be.
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Next, walking under a ladder is considered bad luck.
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Why?
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The superstition of not wanting to walk under a ladder has roots in Christian symbolism.
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The Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit led to an association of the number three with something sacred.
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The triangle with its three sides came to be regarded as sacred as well.
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And a ladder, of course, forms a triangle.
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So naturally, to walk under that ladder would be to destroy the sanctity of the Trinity and thus incur punishment
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in theory by God.
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In addition, the Egyptians apparently thought that one might accidentally spot a God going up or down on a ladder and so avoided it.
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So I m not trying to destroy the Holy Trinity.
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That is not what I m trying to do.
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But I think it s a lot to ask that we never obstruct any sort of triangle.
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Actually, let me be honest here.
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I m probably not gonna start just walking under ladders when I see them on the street, or there s one propped up in my house, simply because it feels like a danger hazard.
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Like that should be the reason why we don t walk under ladders, because it s actually kind of dangerous.
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Don t do that.
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But I don t think it s bad luck.
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Like that really disproved that one for me.
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I m good now on that.
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Next, throwing salt over your shoulder is good luck.
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This superstition involves the idea of warding off evil.
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In this case, the devil himself.
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In Leonardo da Vinci s The Last Supper, Jesus  betrayer Judas is portrayed as having accidentally spilled salt.
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Since Judas was associated with doing something bad, the argument goes that so was salt.
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And throwing it over your shoulder would blind the devil waiting there.
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I will say I think good luck rituals are harmless to an extent because they are associated with positive emotion.
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But still, I m not so sure I need to be throwing salt over my shoulder.
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Maybe I should just throw it into the sink.
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If I m cooking and I have extra salt in my hand, my God, I ll just throw it in the sink.
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I ll just throw it in the trash can.
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It s fine.
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Next, the broken mirror.
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It was the ancient Romans who contributed the notion that a broken mirror would bring seven years of bad luck, since it was believed that only poor health would cause a mirror to crack.
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And the number seven was seen by the Romans as the number of years required to complete a full life cycle of sickness and renewal.
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Those same Romans felt you could prevent that horrible outcome by gathering the broken pieces of the mirror and burying them by moonlight.
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You know what I will say is comforting about all of these origin stories?
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It just proves that we re all a little weird, right?
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The fact that these superstitions gave humans stability and reason back in the day, despite them being completely ridiculous, despite them all being intense reaches,
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It s just kind of comforting in a way, because I think that all of us look for explanations when we re going through hard times.
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I think we re all looking for hope during hard times.
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And sometimes there is no explanation and sometimes there is no hope.
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And so our imaginations will create that for us.
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And I know when I m looking for an explanation or looking for a reason or looking for hope, I can sometimes grasp at straws and feel like I m losing my mind.
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You know, an example of that would be me seeing my angel number on the clock every day.
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Could there be something to that?
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I don t know for sure.
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I would be a know-it-all to say that it for sure doesn t mean something, but I don t know for sure, right?
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I can sometimes feel like I m losing my mind when I feel my brain making connections in ways that are irrational and illogical.
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But it s very clear to me that this is the human condition.
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We all do this and we ve been doing this for a very long time.
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Next, Friday the 13th is considered bad luck.
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And the number 13 in general is considered bad luck.
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Why is that?
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Well, like the number seven for the Romans, magical significance has been attached to the number 13, but this time it s rather unlucky.
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The number 12 has frequently been seen as positive.
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12 months of the year and 12 signs of the zodiac, for example, or 12 days of Christmas in 12 tribes of Israel.
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naturally making its nearest neighboring number to the north negative.
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This is so wild to me.
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Like, just because 13 is the next number after the very lucky number 12, now suddenly 13 is unlucky.
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It s crazy that this is how our brains work.
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Like, we literally just make up the rules sometimes.
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Makes no sense, but yet I kind of get the idea, but it doesn t make sense.
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But it s so interesting that the Romans came to this conclusion because I do this with my angel numbers.
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Like, I think it s unlucky to see one number north to my lucky number.
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My lucky number, not very unique, it s 11.
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I always see the clock, it s like, wake up, it s 8-11, get in the car, it s 9-11.
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Like, you know what I m saying?
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I m always seeing the number 11.
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By the way, don t even get me started.
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Is that real?
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I don t know, whatever.
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But when I start seeing 12s all the time, oh my God, I m a wreck.
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When I get in the car, it s 9-12, and then I order food at a restaurant, and the server brings out my order number, and it s a 12.
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I m like, oh, my God, no.
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I m off track.
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I m off track.
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The angels are trying to tell me something.
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I m off.
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Something s off.
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What did I do?
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You know, is something bad coming?
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Yeah, nothing bad ever comes, though.
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But I feel like it s bad luck because it s not my lucky number 11.
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It s 12, and 12 is evil because it s like I was one minute late to my lucky number.
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If I would have been one minute earlier to the restaurant, I would have gotten the 11.
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What s off in the universe?
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Again, there s no real rationale to this thinking.
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It s just a weird thing we do, okay, as humans.
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Next, people consider horseshoes to be good luck.
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Earliest origins of the horseshoe s function as a good luck charm reside in its vulval shape, seen upside down, in the invocation of the pagan moon goddess Diana in her sacred vulva.
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Okay, so basically, a horseshoe reminded people of a vagina.
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Again, what a reach.
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I m so sorry, I ve never looked at a horseshoe and been like, wow, now that looks like my vagina.
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In addition, iron was thought by early Europeans as something capable of warding off evil spirits.
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And horseshoes frequently featured seven nail holes, which was considered to be a lucky number.
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Again, this is all just like, it s so wild to me because it s like,
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All of this is just made up.
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Like, the reason why seven holes are lucky in a horseshoe is because we decided that seven was a lucky number.
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We also decided that iron was considered a substance that could ward off evil spirits.
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We came to that conclusion on no basis.
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It s like, it s all building onto each other into this
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Big lie.
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Okay.
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Four-leaf clovers are considered lucky only because they re rare.
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Okay, do you know what?
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This is the first one that s made sense to me.
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Like finding a four-leaf clover is rare, so if you find it, you re lucky because you found it.
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Is it going to bring you good luck?
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Probably not, but it is in itself lucky that you found it.
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And it s kind of cool.
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But in the Middle Ages, it was believed by some Celtic groups that wielding a four leaf clover would help you see fairies as well as ward off evil spirits and grant the holder good luck.
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Great.
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You know what?
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Great.
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So I don t think I need to read about any more of these medieval ancient superstitions, because I think it s very clear that they re rooted in a whole lot of nothing.
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Now,
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Do I think that they should be shamed?
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No, not necessarily, because I understand why
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we as humans created these superstitions.
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I ve explained it ad nauseum here now, but it s because we want to feel in control.
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And these superstitions, though they re rooted in nothing, give us that sense of control.
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And so I can t judge other human beings from God knows how long ago.
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for creating these good and bad omens, because it s like, how else were they supposed to explain the terrible things that they were encountering on a daily basis?
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How were they supposed to explain the unexpected good fortune that they were experiencing occasionally?
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It doesn t shock me that a lot of these superstitions are rooted in religion, because I think people really, really needed religion back then, because times were fucking tough.
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I think that the most common superstitions today are much more personal.
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I think there is still a level of attention to these mainstream, universal, almost, superstitions that have stood the test of time.
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But I think most people nowadays are superstitious in much more personal ways.
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For example, they have a lucky number.
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They believe in angel numbers.
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They have pre-performance superstitions, pre-performance rituals.
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They have bad luck omens that they ve come up with on their own.
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They have good luck omens that they ve decided on their own.
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I think a lot of superstition now is more personal, based on personal experience.
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I think being superstitious can be good and bad.
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mainly bad.
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Superstitions can bring us comfort during challenging times.
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They can give us a sense of control during challenging times.
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That cannot be ignored.
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Sometimes that s what keeps us going.
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You know what I mean?
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We need that sometimes, even though it s delusional.
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I don t think that s necessarily a bad thing.
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I think if superstitions in one way or another lead to optimistic thoughts, lead to positive actions, even if they re based in delusion, it s like, okay, but at least there s a good result coming out of it.
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I think in general, being superstitious is harmful to one s mental health.
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And I m realizing this about the world as I m realizing this about myself.
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I think they cause a lot of anxiety.
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I think that they cause more anxiety than they do positive thoughts, for the most part.
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In addition to them creating a lot of anxiety, they re also not rooted in anything real, tangible.
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Is it possible that there is such a thing as good luck charms, bad luck charms, good luck rituals, bad luck rituals?
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Maybe.
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I don t know for sure, but we don t have any proof.
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So, you know, it s not rooted in anything truly real.
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And what a shame it is to create anxiety and fear about something that isn t even rooted in reality.
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We already have enough to be anxious about on a day to day basis.
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By being superstitious in a lot of ways, you re just creating more anxiety, but for no reason.
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So personally, I m done being superstitious, I think.
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I don t think it s good for me.
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I m really going to try to stop.
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I think for me in particular, I need to stop.
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focusing on lucky numbers.
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I need to stop overthinking things that I consider to be bad luck or bad omens.
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If they happen to me, I need to be like, well, that doesn t mean anything.
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I need to stop Googling the spiritual meaning of seeing certain things.
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Like if I see a dead animal on the side of the road, like a dead bird, I have to Google it.
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Does this mean something?
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What does this mean?
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I need to be living in reality.
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So I looked up how to stop being superstitious and I found a wiki how article on it and there were some pretty good tips.
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So I m gonna read them to you.
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So if you re superstitious too, maybe together we can stop.
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Step one, learn where your superstitions originate from.
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One way to overcome your superstitious beliefs is to learn where they come from to begin with.
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Guess what?
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We did that today with some superstitions.
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Two, realize that there s no rational proof that these superstitions can affect your life.
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I think we re all working on that, so that s good.
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Three, consider which superstitions cause regular inconvenience to you.
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For me, it s the lucky numbers and it s the bad luck, anything that is considered bad luck.
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Four, avoid superstitious beliefs when making decisions.
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I need to start going to my workout class and choosing the 13th treadmill every single class.
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I need to start just choosing 13, choosing 12, numbers that I consider to be unlucky for me.
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I need to adopt a black cat.
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I need to walk under every ladder I see.
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I just need to start proving to myself that all of these things that I consider to be bad luck don t really matter.
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I need to look at the clock at 11.11 and say to myself, that means fucking nothing, idiot.
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Everybody looks at their clock and sees 11.11 and says, make a wish, because it s widely known to be lucky.
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Trillions of people see 11.11 on the clock every day and think, well, that s lucky.
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I m no different.
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I m not special.
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That number doesn t mean shit.
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When I get in the car in the morning and it s 9.11 a.m., I need to say to myself, guess what that means?
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Fucking nothing.
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When I wake up in the morning and it s 7.11 a.m., I need to look at the clock and say to myself, guess what that means?
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Fucking nothing.
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Oops, that means nothing.
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Number five, realize that you have the power to make your own luck.
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This is so true.
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Honestly, if you want something good to happen, there s a lot you can do to make that good thing happen.
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We can t guarantee anything in life, but you re better off taking steps in the right direction than you are just sitting there with your lucky charm in your pocket, you know?
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Next, learn to ignore the urge to act on a superstitious belief.
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Next, know that a superstition only works because you believe in its inherent charm and power.
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Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, it s like I m giving these things power that they don t deserve.
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I should be giving the power to me, bitch.
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Guess who s in the driver s seat?
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Mama over here, okay?
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The clock telling me that it s 8, 11 p.m.
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has no control over me.
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Seeing the number 12 on the clock instead of 11, oops, don t care.
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because that doesn t mean anything.
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All that means is that it s 12, 12 p.m.
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or it s 9, 12 p.m.
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That s all it means.
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And guess what?
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When I see it s 10, 11 p.m., guess what that means?
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Also nothing.
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It s just the time on the clock.
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And last but not least, seek help if your superstitious beliefs are an indication of OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder.
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So yeah, that s how I m gonna conclude this episode is that I actually genuinely
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I do think I might need to go to a psychiatrist about this, because I sometimes, I m not somebody who self-diagnoses, so I m not going to say anything else, but sometimes I feel like there s something happening in my brain that s undiagnosed, and I don t know what it is.
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And again, whatever it is, it s fine, but there s definitely something.
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I just don t know what it is.
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And part of me doesn t want to know.
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How fun is it to not know?
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But I ve had people my whole life be like, yeah, you have OCD, or yeah, you have ADHD, or yeah, you have ADD, or whatever.
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People have been trying to diagnose me my whole life with various different things.
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I don t know what the truth is, and maybe I ll check it out someday, but I don t know.
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In the meantime, I think it s important for all of us to remember that these things are normal.
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To be superstitious, it s normal.
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Making irrational connections in your brain to try to make something make sense is normal People have been doing it for thousands of years and there s a reason for that.
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It s just it s just who we are As humans, I think it s normal, but I but I might see a psychiatrist just to make sure Just to make sure okay.
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I m sorry just to check for all of us anyway That s all I have for today
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no oh my god i just stop stop this right now i just fucking looked at my
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to see how long I ve been recording.
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One hour and 11 minutes.
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Okay, wait, now I m like wondering, is that the universe being like, this episode was fucking fire?
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This episode was so good, Emma?
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Was that the universe and my angels being like, Emma, you are on the right track, babe.
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This episode was so good and you re slaying despite all odds, despite what s going on in your life.
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You re slaying, babe.
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Just when I thought I was not superstitious anymore, that just threw me for a loop.
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See, now I m like, hold on, who s being silly with me up there in the heavens?
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Who s being silly with me?
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Cause it s working and I love this game.
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Okay, I m fucking done.
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I m done.
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I can t do this anymore.
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Thank you all so much for listening and hanging out.
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You stick around even when things get a little wild and I appreciate that more than anything.
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I love the time that we spend together.
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It s always so much fun.
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And I hope you enjoy it as well.
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And if you do, you can tune in Thursdays and Sundays, anywhere that you stream podcasts, to watch video, head to Spotify, to watch me talk.
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You can follow Anything Goes on Instagram at Anything Goes.
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You can follow me on Instagram at Emma Chamberlain.
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You can check out my coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee.
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We have coffee, we have tea, we have accessories.
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We re in grocery stores.
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You can order online or check the store locator online and see if we re at a grocery store near you.
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Thank you again for listening.
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I can t wait to talk to you soon.
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And I just love you.
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Bye.