Here’s a weird thing you probably don’t know about me: I always win things. Little things, I mean, like contests and giveaways. If I’m attending an event and they’re giving away door prizes, I’d say there’s about an 85% chance that I’ll be walking away with a door prize. It’s kind of uncanny. I’m lucky. I don’t know if it’s intuition or manifestation or what, but on numerous occasions, I have been certain that my name or number was about to be called as a winner seconds before the words were actually spoken.

A few weeks ago, an old friend who sells Color Street nail polish strips had a Powerball-style contest on her Facebook page. She had people choose a Powerball number and 5 other numbers and type them in the comments. Then, a day or so later, she would draw numbers and announce winners, who would receive discounts and free products. It seemed like a fun game, so I picked six numbers off the top of my head, typed them in, and then went to bed and forgot about it. A couple days later, I woke in the morning to a bunch of Facebook notifications. I basically swept the contest, winning in all three of the prize categories. Lucky me, I was the big winner. It totally made my day.

I didn’t really care that much about the free nail strips, but the win reaffirmed what I already knew: I’m lucky. I went through the rest of the day expecting more positive things to come my way, because they always do.

Now, if someone were to do a mathematical analysis of every contest I’ve ever entered, it’s quite possible that the numbers would not objectively support what I just said. Do I literally win the vast majority of the games I play or drawings I enter? Probably not. But at some point in my life, after winning enough times, I came to believe that I’m lucky. I noticed the wins and forgot about the non-wins. Once I told myself that I’m lucky and I always win things, my brain began to look for evidence in support of that belief. It discounted evidence to the contrary. I don’t remember this, of course, but this is how human brains work. The more times I won, the stronger the belief became. As a result, I now notice and celebrate these wins, and I expect good things to happen to me.

This is an important principle to understand. It is our natural tendency to want to be right. Our brains look for evidence to support our beliefs and discount evidence that undermines our beliefs. You can see this play out on a daily basis with respect to any number of major political and cultural issues. It’s called confirmation bias.

We should try to counteract confirmation bias when it comes to important issues and decisions by consciously seeking out different sources of news and evidence and by questioning our assumptions. But we can also use confirmation bias to our advantage in creating a better life and a more optimistic outlook. Would you rather go through life believing that you’re weird and uncool and constantly gathering evidence that nobody likes you, or instead believing that you’re awesome and collecting evidence that everyone wants to be your friend? Would you rather think that you’re unlucky and gather evidence that bad things always happen to you, or think that you’re lucky and constantly notice all the good fortune that comes your way?

Good or bad, we all have deep-seated beliefs about ourselves, humanity, and the world we inhabit. How do your beliefs shape the way you move through life? Is there a different belief that might serve you better? Changing long-held subconscious thoughts isn’t easy, but it can be done. It requires consistent effort, but if you do the work, it can really transform your life.

Once you figure out what new belief you want to adopt, turn it into a mantra and say it over and over again. Add some qualifiers if necessary. If an aspirational thought like “I am beautiful” seems too unbelievable to you right now, try a version like “I am open to believing that I am beautiful” or “It is possible that some people might find me beautiful.” Then do whatever it takes to call this new thought to mind all day long, day after day, until it feels like second nature. Hang post-it notes around your house, set alarms on your phone, tie a string around your finger. Continually say it to yourself, and you’ll eventually begin to notice little happenings that align with your new thought. The more evidence you see to support it, the stronger your belief will become, and the more evidence you will find as a result.

I’ve done this to revise my beliefs about money and scarcity, and it is powerful. Some of my favorite mantras are “Money is always there for me when I need it” and “Money flows to me consistently.” And you know what? I really believe those things now. The stronger my belief has become, the more abundance I see, and the less I dwell in scarcity and fear.

What do you want to believe today? Are you lucky too?