Change your money mindset and get richer

your state of mind can make all the difference to your wealth, luck and success. it’s all about preparation and getting ready to live a life that’s rightfully yours. our panel of experts is here to help…

Think rich

your thoughts are much more powerful than you realise. they feed your unconscious, which creates your reality.

“if you want something badly, believe it is attainable,” says Jen sincero. research suggests that faith-based rather than evidence-based behaviour powerfully shapes our actions, which make our dreams more likely to come true.

“Fake it ’til you make it,” says sincero. “Do it in spite of yourself. act as if. and do it in huge detail. if you want to get that dream job, visit the building it’s situated in. Wear the clothes you would if you landed it. imagine yourself sitting at that desk.”

by getting ready for the event, says sincero, you tell yourself it’s happening and put yourself in situations that bring you closer to making it reality, and where you’ll meet people who become your “enablers”. stay open to opportunities that can lead you to your goal. one tiny step leads to another and another, and before long, a thousand steps have helped you get there.

Live like a queen

Where you live has a profound impact on how you feel about your life. Colour, comfort, cleanliness and light are crucial, says Ingrid Fetell Lee. Research has shown that bright colours increase wellbeing and productivity. People sitting in red, orange and pink coloured rooms report feeling more alert, friendly, confident and motivated.

Small things can make a huge difference. At home, declutter your rooms, freshen up walls with paint, and buy evergreen pot plants and bright cushions. This makes other, larger ambitions (like getting a new job or getting richer) feel much more achievable. It sends messages to your unconscious that you’re preparing for change. Tidy up every night. Prepare yourself for each day, so you’re ready to make the most of it. Be organised and on top of shopping, tax and bills. The more in control you are, the better you’ll feel and the more receptive and alert you’ll be to great opportunities.

Hang out with doers

When you hang out with pessimists and energy vacuums, it’s an uphill climb to keep yourself on an even keel, never mind to feel, happy, rich and fulfilled.

“surround yourself with uplifting people who make you feel great. this is probably one of the hardest things to achieve and won’t happen overnight, but it’s definitely doable,” says carole ann rice. identify and start to move away from people who drag you down and make unreasonable demands on your time and energy. you don’t have to be rude, just gradually become unavailable. and don’t explain. you don’t have to justify yourself to anyone.

Find people who make you feel like you can leap tall buildings, says rice. be clear about who you want to meet. Don’t worry about where you’ll find them. as you let the dead-weight friends go, you’ll be freed up to visit places and encounter the right people. try taking up new activities, volunteering, or joining a book club, choir or sports club. trust your instincts. be open and very clear about the sort of people you need. being around inspired, visionary, enthusiastic people is one of the fastest ways to massively transform your life.

Lose your guilt

Do you remember the feeling when you were a child of being so wrapped up in an activity that you forgot the time?

“it’s called being ‘in flow’ and it means that you’re doing exactly what you should be, to get richer,” says sincero. lots of us feel guilty about doing this, as if it’s wrong, indulgent or somehow irresponsible. squash that voice right now. being in flow is the only way to really understand what you’re great at.

take notice of what it is that keeps you engrossed and translate that into something to make you more fulfilled. love arts and crafts? create a youtube channel and make some money. love yoga? retrain and start teaching classes. make more time for what you love, and delegate stuff you hate to someone who loves what you hate. make gradual changes in your work and home life to do more of what makes you sing. you’ll be much more successful and achieve far more this way, than by doing stuff that makes you miserable.

Be grateful

This sounds clichéd but it really works. Every evening, try and find 10 things to be grateful for about that day. It can be anything from noticing the first spring buds on the trees to realising there’s a bonus episode on your box set you haven’t seen. Lots of us find this difficult, but it’s worth cultivating the habit, and then you find yourself doing it automatically.

“Gratitude reduces underlying negative emotions such as regret, envy, frustration and resentment,” says Rice. The more grateful you are, the less likely you are to experience depression. It improves your relationships because gratitude makes you appreciate what you have, improving your self-esteem and making you feel richer, materially and spiritually. It can even give your career a boost because it increases productivity and enhances your decision-making skills.