Ever Wonder Why Some People Always Seem to Win? It’s the Coherence Effect at Work

We have all observed moments when someone seems to have everything fall seamlessly into place — the colleague whose presentation captivates every room and leaves decision-makers nodding in agreement, the friend who always finds the perfect words to ease tension in a heated conversation, the entrepreneur whose vision magnetises investors as if success is preordained or the golfer who sinks the unlikely long winding putt on the 18th green to win the match.

It feels as if the universe itself is conspiring in their favour. And then there are others — equally intelligent, equally prepared — who come agonisingly close yet fall short, missing promotions by a whisker, watching deals collapse at the last moment, or stumbling in conversations that matter most. It’s as if 'luck' seems to slip away from them.

These contrasting outcomes raise a deeper question: why do some people appear to carry momentum that bends reality in their favour, while others, despite their efforts, face near misses again and again?

At first glance, this feels like luck. But look deeper, and you’ll see something more profound at work: the alignment of desire, belief, and outcome. I call this The Coherence Effect.

Desire, Belief, and Outcomes

Winners in life are not simply more talented or more focused. They tap into something deeper — a state where both desire and belief are not casual wishes, but forces charged with intensity.

• Desire is not just a fleeting want. It is a burning fuel, the inner fire that says, “I must have this, nothing less will do.”

• Belief is not a timid hope. It is a conviction so strong it silences self-doubt. “I can do this, and I will.”

• Outcome bends toward you when these two forces are aligned. When what you want and what you believe in are pulling in the same direction, life itself seems to rearrange to support you.

  
  

When desire is high but belief is shaky, tension arises. When belief is strong but desire is weak, effort dwindles. But when desire and belief fuse into coherence, the margins shift. Doors open. Conversations resonate. Opportunities align. What looks like luck is, in truth, coherence at work.

From Metaphysics to Neuroscience

Every choice presents possibilities — success, near miss, failure. What collapses that probability wave (to borrow from quantum theory) is not only mechanics but also expectation and energy.  The person aligned with belief and desire unconsciously influences their body language, tone, and actions to match their expectation. The “lucky” one expects success, and often, it follows.

While this may sound mystical, neuroscience gives us a concrete explanation for why coherence works. Brain imaging and behavioural studies reveal that what we call luck often stems from neural chemistry and circuit synchronisation.

•     Desire is fuelled by the brain’s dopaminergic system. Research shows that dopamine circuits in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens drive motivation and reward-seeking, sharpening focus and energising the body (Haber & Knutson, 2010, Nature link). Increased dopaminergic activity has even been shown to enhance information coding in the prefrontal cortex, directly improving clarity and decision-making (Mininni et al., 2018, Nature link).

•     Belief engages the prefrontal cortex and its connections with the limbic system. Strong belief reshapes expectation and perception, activating networks similar to those seen in placebo effects, where conviction alone produces measurable physiological changes. Recent work highlights how distinct dopamine pathways in the medial prefrontal cortex respond differently to reward and aversion, illustrating how belief and expectation can tilt neural circuits toward confidence or caution (Abe et al., 2024, eLife link).

•     Coherence emerges when these motivational and belief circuits synchronise with autonomic rhythms — breathing, heart rate, and brainwave states such as alpha. Synchronised neural activity reduces noise in the system, calms the amygdala, and allows performance circuits to dominate. Studies from MIT have shown that when brain regions align in synchrony, attention sharpens and outcomes improve (MIT, 2009, Wired link).

At a higher level, belief formation itself is understood as a dynamic process, constantly updated by the interplay of multiple networks (Presti et al., 2025, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews link). This reinforces the point that belief is not something you “manufacture” but rather uncover by reducing distortion and letting existing circuits fire cleanly.

In this state of alignment, the nervous system is primed for achievement. Performance peaks, ideas flow freely, and focus sharpens. What others might call luck is, through the lens of neuroscience, the visible outcome of neuro-alignment — your brain and body tuned to deliver what you desire and believe in.

When Coherence Works in Reverse

The same mechanism that aligns desire and belief for success can, unfortunately, align them for failure. This is reverse coherence — when desire collides with doubt, and the outcome mirrors your fears.

• Desire: “I want this promotion.”

  Belief: “But I always stumble in interviews.”

  Outcome: nerves take over, and the stumble arrives on cue.

  
  

• Desire: “I want to connect with my partner.”

  Belief: “But I always mess up serious conversations.”

  Outcome: words tangle, and the moment is lost.

From a neuroscience perspective, reverse coherence happens because the amygdala — the brain’s fear and threat detection centre — overwhelms the prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for rational thought and forward planning. Dopamine pathways still signal desire, but when paired with fearful beliefs, the nervous system interprets the goal as danger rather than opportunity. Stress hormones rise, motor circuits misfire, and the body acts out the fear response, reinforcing the very failure you were trying to avoid. In short, your brain’s protective instincts end up becoming the architect of your setbacks.

Reverse coherence doesn’t happen in isolation. It is fuelled by the biases that already shape our thoughts — sometimes amplifying our weaknesses, sometimes offering a chance to override them. Before diving into examples, it helps to understand the main biases at play:

• Confirmation Bias – Our mind tends to notice and reinforce evidence that supports our existing beliefs. If doubt is dominant, every slip feels like proof of incompetence.

• Availability Bias – We give disproportionate weight to memories that are vivid or recent. A single embarrassing stumble can feel more real than years of successes.

• Cognitive Dissonance – When what we want and what we believe clash, the tension is often resolved in favour of fear or doubt, because survival wiring prioritises caution.

• Anchoring Bias – The first strong impression or experience (often negative) sets a mental anchor that shapes how future situations are interpreted.

  
  

Consider a manager preparing for a major presentation. A past slip has lodged in their memory, and now confirmation bias whispers, “See, you always stumble in front of senior leaders.” The vividness of that memory creates availability bias, making it seem more real than dozens of successful presentations. As the moment approaches, cognitive dissonance activates: desire says, “I want to shine,” but belief mutters, “I’ll probably falter.” The brain resolves the conflict in favour of doubt. The outcome? Reverse coherence — nerves, stumbles, and a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Nevertheless, this same mechanism can be reversed through assertive reframing — “Now is not the time to fall into the security trap. I have the skills to make this work.” — Coherence can resolve dissonance in your favour. The negative anchor begins to loosen. Perspective broadens. Past successes are given equal weight, and belief re-emerges.

Why this matters: coherence is never neutral. Left unchecked, it amplifies bias and traps you in self-defeating cycles. But with awareness and reframing, it can override bias, disrupt reverse coherence, and create momentum in your favour.

Flipping the Script: Reframing and Uncovering Belief

Reframing is the mental skill of shifting how you interpret a situation so that it empowers rather than undermines you. Instead of accepting the brain’s automatic negative interpretation, reframing replaces it with a perspective that strengthens belief and action. It is important because the brain’s survival bias will, by default, tilt you toward caution and fear. Reframing interrupts that automatic script and rewrites it in your favour.

Most advice on reframing is too soft. To overcome the brain’s survival bias, you need a stronger counterforce — language that commands your system to stand down.

Examples:

“Now is not the time to fall into the security trap of missing danger.”

“I want this. I know I can make this work. I have the skills to do this.”

“Fear is just old wiring. I’m choosing the winning circuitry now.”

The brain respects authority — especially your own authoritative voice. Over time, this rewires the default loop: dissonance stops defaulting to doubt and begins to default to belief. This makes aggressive reframing not separate from uncovering belief, but a natural extension of it. As you peel away layers of self-doubt, past wounds, overthinking, and conditioning, assertive reframing provides the decisive push. It transforms uncovered belief into active conviction, ensuring that the strengths already within you rise to the surface with clarity and force.

You don’t create Belief, you uncover it.

Before we discuss uncovering belief, it is important to pause and recognise a deeper truth: each of us already holds within the strengths, talents, and neural capacity to handle whatever life presents. These strengths are seldom absent — they are simply hidden, muffled by cognitive distortions and the dominant negative bias we have just explored. The brain’s survival circuitry has evolved to highlight fear more than possibility, creating the illusion that doubt outweighs confidence. In reality, confidence and ability are present, just covered over.

This is why the idea of uncovering belief is more powerful than trying to create it. Creating suggests something is missing and needs to be built. Uncovering implies that belief is innate, ready to be revealed once layers of fear, doubt, and conditioning are peeled away.

Neuroscience supports this: circuits for competence and confidence already exist in the brain. However, these networks compete with dominant neural pathways shaped by repeated exposure to doubt, fear, and cultural conditioning. Over time, these dominant networks suppress the expression of alternative circuits, creating the illusion that confidence is absent.

This suppression becomes evident in the Savant phenomenon, where individuals with unique neurological patterns have certain dominant networks that are less active.  Suppressed pathways are freed, and some of these individuals demonstrate extraordinary skills in maths, music, or memory — abilities present in all of us, but often masked by competing, dominant networks.

The task, therefore, is not to create belief or competence from scratch but to diminish the noise of distortion and quieten the dominance of fear-based networks so that circuits for confidence and self-assurance can activate clearly and strongly.

Uncover belief by peeling back the covers of self-doubt, past failures, cultural conditioning and overthinking and notice how each layer shows up in daily life.

Chunking to Neutralise Biases

In certain situations, our memory bank feels empty of past successes, and this is when biases take over. The mind convinces us that failure is inevitable.

The way forward is not to wrestle with the whole picture at once, but to break it into smaller chunks. Neuroscience tells us that the brain executes complex actions through a series of sub-programmes. By focusing on one part at a time, we reduce cognitive overload and quieten the anxious loops of the prefrontal cortex. Each small success strengthens a circuit, and together, these micro-successes reshape the dominant network.

For example:

• Instead of fearing the “big presentation,” focus on opening confidently, explaining one idea clearly, then closing with a steady voice.

• Instead of dreading an interview, break it down: visualise entering the room calmly, greeting everyone with a smile, sitting with composure, and anticipating the first question with curiosity and not fear. Each chunk is manageable, and each visualised success deposits a small credit into your belief system.

  
  

Step by step, chunk by chunk, bias is neutralised and belief uncovered.

The Four Steps of the Coherence Effect

Once belief is uncovered and redefined, the next step is to align it with desire through four practical actions. Think of this as moving from insight to action— the process that transforms inner clarity into tangible results.

Here’s how:

1. Clarify Desire – Be specific about what you want. Vague desires lead to vague outcomes.

2. Uncover Belief – Recall small proofs, use reframing, and counter doubt.

3. Synchronise State – Breathe coherence: inhale with desire (“I want this”), exhale with belief (“I know I can”).

4. Release and Allow – Stop overthinking. Trust the alignment and let your skills flow.

These steps turn coherence from concept to practice, strengthening the pathways of belief and desire until outcomes follow naturally.

Everyday Applications

• At work: Enter meetings wanting to contribute, believing in your value, and speaking with clarity.

• In relationships: Approach conversations with a desire for connection and a belief in resolution.

  
  

From Coherence to MindVigilance

The Coherence Effect is one tool in a larger philosophy I call MindVigilance — the practice of noticing, reframing, and redirecting mental states in real time. Coherence shows what’s possible when belief and desire align. MindVigilance is the discipline that makes it repeatable.

When things seem to go your way, it isn’t luck. It’s the deliberate alignment of belief and desire — sharpened through practice, reinforced by reframing, and sustained with vigilance. That is the essence of the Coherence Effect.

✨ This article is part of my upcoming book MindVigilance, where I share practical tools to help you live with clarity, intent, and resonance.