How to turn the mundane into casual magic

I like to think of casual magic as the small things you can appreciate in your everyday life. A beautiful sunset, a warm drink held in two hands, the birds chirping outside, the light shining through the crack in the curtains and reflecting off the roof, when you weigh butter on the scales and get it perfect the first time, the fact that clovers have perfect heart-shaped leaves, when you throw something across the room and get it into the basket, or when someone goes out of their way to help you.

Our brains are plastic, which means they are constantly changing. The more we do or think certain things, the stronger those connections become and the more likely we are to do that thing or think in that way again.

This is why certain mindset shifts can be difficult in the beginning, because you may be forming a brand new connection (or trying to use a very weak connection) and it takes time and practice to build up that connection to be stronger than the ones you might have been using for years. If your autopilot has been using a connection, it's probably the most ingrained of all, as you can do it without even thinking.

The idea behind appreciating casual magic is that it's a simple way to start training your mind to see the beauty in the mundane and think more positively about your everyday world. It works best if once you notice something good, allow your mind to linger on it that bit longer than you might have otherwise.

It’s kind of like training the YouTube algorithm to know what you like to consume. The more videos of a certain genre you click on and the longer you watch those videos, the more the algorithm will bring those videos to your attention in the future.

The same thing can be said for training your brain. The more times you point out the positive and beautiful things in the world around you, and the longer your mind lingers on them, the more wired your brain will be to spot them and focus on them in the future.