Notice more
Lucky people tend to be relaxed and observant, so they spot chances others walk past. Slow down, look up from your phone and pay attention to what is around you.
Lucky living
Make room for a little more luck
Charms, customs and everyday habits that people have trusted for centuries, plus a few that modern research suggests really make a difference.
Around the world
Good luck traditions worth knowing
Ireland
The four-leaf clover
Most clovers have three leaves, and finding a fourth is famously rare, with odds often quoted at around one in ten thousand. Each leaf is said to stand for faith, hope, love and luck.
Japan
Maneki-neko
The beckoning cat sits in shop windows with one paw raised to welcome customers and fortune. A raised left paw is said to invite people, a raised right paw to invite wealth.
China
The number eight
The word for eight sounds close to the word for prosperity, which makes it the luckiest of numbers. Phone numbers, addresses and wedding dates with eights are highly prized.
Spain
Twelve grapes at midnight
On New Year's Eve, people eat one grape on each stroke of midnight. Finish all twelve in time and you are promised a lucky month for each one.
Europe
The horseshoe
Hung above a door, a horseshoe is said to protect the home. Most say it should point upward so the luck cannot spill out.
Worldwide
Wishing on a dandelion
Children everywhere blow on dandelion seed heads and make a wish. If every seed flies away in one breath, the wish is supposed to come true.
Daily habits
Habits that help you make your own luck
Psychologist Richard Wiseman spent years studying people who considered themselves lucky or unlucky. His work suggests that much of what we call luck comes down to attitude and behaviour.
Meet new people
Many lucky breaks arrive through other people. Strike up conversations, keep in touch with old friends and say yes to invitations now and then.
Change your routine
Take a different route, try a new café, read outside your usual interests. Variety puts you in the path of things you would never have found otherwise.
Expect good things
Optimism keeps you trying after setbacks. The more attempts you make, the more chances fortune has to find you.
Trust your gut
Quiet moments, walks and good sleep help intuition surface. Lucky people often say they simply had a feeling, then acted on it.
Find the silver lining
When things go wrong, ask what could have been worse and what you can learn. Reframing bad luck makes it easier to move forward.
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”A saying credited to many, from golfers to inventors
A simple ritual
Your five-minute lucky morning
Small rituals give the day a hopeful start. Try this for a week and see how it feels.
- Jot down any dream you remember in your journal
- Write three things you are grateful for
- Choose one small new thing to try today
- Send a kind message to someone you have not spoken to in a while
- Step outside for a breath of fresh air before you check your screen
Had a dream you cannot shake?
Browse our dream dictionary to explore what common symbols may mean and how to read them for yourself.
Open the dream dictionary