HOW TO MAKE LIFE SMILES BETTER

IF YOU'RE FEELING DOWN ABOUT THE SPIRALLING COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS, TRAINING YOUR BRAIN TO THINK HAPPY COULD GIVE YOU A SUNNY OUTLOOK

- LOUISE BURKE

The world has been stuck in crisis mode for some time and more than three-quarters of adults in Britain are worrying about rising living costs*. Clearly there’s not much to smile about. Or is there?

Life coach Holly Matthews, author of The Happy Me Project: The No-Nonsense Guide To Self-Development, says that if we train our brains to think differently, we can actually feel happier.

“Life is harder today than it has been for many years,” says Holly. “But I really believe it’s possible to make friends with fear and change your story.”

Here are her six steps to happiness during these tough financial times…

1 PRACTISE PERMITTED DAYDREAMING

Think you have to work hard to make money? "It's not true!" says Holly. "Some people graft hard every day but aren't rich. We have to teach ourselves to work smarter, not harder. Get on top of your mindset and make good decisions." Holly recommends "permitted daydreaming".

"It's important to allow space for nothing - that's when the magic happens. When we do nothing, we activate something called the default mode network (DMN) regions in our brains. This is a space where our brain can reflect, consider and help make sense of the world.