Science Proves You Can Rewire Your Brain for Prosperity

If you’ve been unhappy because you think you weren’t “born lucky,” you should know the truth: you can change your luck. I’ve watched it happen as I’ve personally helped to rewire my clients’ thought patterns and habits to create more luck in their lives. No matter how bad things are in your life right now, you can use the following guide for how to change your luck to help you start improving your situation.

To show how you can break through old patterns, we’ll focus on turning a day that many believe is unlucky – Friday the 13th – into your luckiest day ever. These lucky Fridays come around twice a year on average; you can see when the next one is coming on this website.

Despite what many people think, the combination of Friday and the number 13 was supremely lucky to ancient traditions in Egypt, Asia and Europe because both represent the prosperity and feminine divinity associated with concepts such as fertility, good harvests and romance. Let’s welcome this Lady Luck back into our lives!

Anytime you need to rewire yourself, you need to focus on new thoughts and ideas that you must strengthen over time to override bad habits and old patterns. I talked about this topic and simple exercises earlier in “How to Change Your Mind: The Power of Recognition,” so have a look at that page first if you want to understand the basic principles about how this process works.

1. Visualize good luck without focusing on your fears

Researchers have discovered that visualizations have a great deal of power to alter our emotional state, either allowing us to see new opportunities and attract luck or blinding us to these opportunities. That’s why, scientifically, simple gestures to keep bad luck away such as “knocking on wood” seem to actually help people stay lucky – driving anxiety and negative imagery from their minds.

Use this principle to your advantage by visualizing your perfect lucky day on Friday the 13th in a simple meditation.

Every day, preferably in the morning, quickly clean a quiet corner of your home to get rid of stagnant energy there, so it’s a nice place to meditate. Then, choose your good luck charm. It can be anything you love that makes you happy, such as a photo, a little crystal, a feather or keepsake jewelry. But it should be small enough for you to carry around with you most of the day.

Sit in the same, freshly cleaned meditation space every day while holding your charm and repeat to yourself, “I am becoming luckier every day, and I can’t wait for Friday the 13th to bring me more happiness!” Then, imagine how you want your perfect Friday to unfold.

Write it down like a story, and stick to the same story each day. Spend some time each day preparing for your perfect day, by figuring out what you need to do to encourage things to unfold that way on the 13th. For example, if you want to move into a new place by the next lucky 13th, you’ll first decide where you want to go. Then, work backward. Think about how long it takes you to pack and move your stuff there; you’ll then know by which date you need to have sold your house and finished the paperwork. Keep working backward from the date of reaching your dream until you have a realistic timeline with concrete steps to follow each day.

Whenever you feel down during the day, pull out your good luck charm and remember that everything can become a new opportunity.

2. Open up to new opportunities to create luck

London researchers who studied those considering themselves lucky versus unlucky found that the self-identified lucky ones recognized great opportunities and jumped at them while the “unfortunate ones” kept mostly to themselves. The takeaway here: to bring in good fortune, you need to be more social.

If you want a better job by the next lucky 13th, talk to anyone you can about it and ask for recommendations! Luck loves those who are willing to be outgoing, so practice letting go of shyness a little more each day. Welcome the unexpected options.

Other ways to bring in more fortunate opportunities into your life on that perfect Friday include:

• Start a public Pinterest board titled “My Lucky Friday 13th,” posting links on it about fun ways you’ll celebrate it
• Open a Facebook fan page for Friday the 13th, sharing ideas about what you’re planning with friends, which helps you meet more people
• Throw a party on that awesome Friday
• Book a spa day for Friday the 13th
• Go to a concert on that day
• Try a free app such as Bumble BFF to meet a new best friend

3. Tap into the abundant mindset of giving on your lucky day

CEO Jack Griffin says, “Helping three new people is likely to attract better luck than attempting to extract favors from those new individuals. You’ll feel amazed at how karma can reward a mindset like this in the long run.”

One simple activity that can quickly put you in a great mood and make you appreciate life is participating in a charity, such as volunteering at an animal shelter. Some shelters have programs to bring animals into the cancer wards of hospitals for a special visit, and even doctors support these programs because they can help patients recover faster.

You could also start small by simply buying a pot of coffee for your colleagues at work on your special Friday the 13th.

4. Practice complaining less and expressing gratitude more

The successful manager of Dreamstime.com, Noelle Federico, says, “Lucky circumstances follow people who emanate certain qualities.” For instance, Federico says, “[S]top being critical, eliminate complaining, be a contribution to others, look to see how you can help people around you, be disciplined with yourself, set goals and get moving on them, always be in action and never let fear stop you. Positive, productive, hardworking people create an aura of energy around them that attracts lucky circumstances.”

Every night before you fall asleep, you should write down all the good things that happened to see how much you have to be grateful for. Everyone can find at least one good thing to write down, and then it gets easier. On the 13th, make sure you write at least 10 things you’re grateful for to see how lucky you were!

5. Create luck by stepping outside your walls

One British professor did many experiments about teaching people how to attract more luck, based on his research on the traits that separate those who fortunate from those who feel that everything goes wrong in their lives. He had a high success rate of 80 percent of the participants experiencing much more happiness and seeing life differently. One of the key exercises he made them do was practice stepping outside of their routines.

Try this one for fun. Do one unpredictable thing to which you would normally say “no,” and see what happens. You’re sure to discover a number of new opportunities when you start exploring how much you’re really capable of.

Here are some ideas to inspire you:

• Buy a lottery ticket on your fortunate Friday.
• Sign up for a class to learn that thing you’ve always wanted to do.
• Greet a stranger who looks interesting, and chat with them during your lunch break.

Once you start following some of these tips, you’ll start looking forward to the next lucky Friday the 13th like it’s your favorite holiday! Plus, you’ll start feeling luckier in general. To keep your Friday the 13th spirit up, set up a countdown-timer app or widget on your phone to build up the anticipation for the next one. I like these top three countdown timers for iPhone and Android phones. Don’t forget to put on your lucky shirt on that special Friday and celebrate!

For more inspiration, check out these must-read posts on how to change your luck:
Tap into the relief of appreciation, with my guided gratitude meditation video. Get more motivation to break an unlucky habit with this visualization practice.
Embrace new beginnings in your life by listening to my audiobook, Change your Path.

Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.