Finding Magic in the Mundane
I remember it like it was yesterday. I’d just finished work and bussed home to my crowded apartment in San Francisco to quickly change and walk to my neighborhood 24 Hour Fitness. I was on the elliptical, Beyonce’s new album was bumping in my ears, and I was re-hashing my day’s work in agency PR. A press hit in Marie Claire, another in BRIDES, a media opportunity secured in USA Today, and several successful journalist experiences confirmed at hotels and restaurants I represented. All in a day’s work. I felt proud; and frankly, like a badass.
But it wasn’t all in a day’s work. Each of these things I was celebrating took hours, days, weeks, months even, to come to fruition. They all just happened to arrive at a pinnacle on this particular day and at the same time. It really was such a high.
When I look back at my twenties, living in a bustling city where everyone was climbing the corporate ladder left and right, I recall the need for ascension. To “make it” — and in the fastest way possible. To reach the next milestone. Naturally these are the things that are easiest to recall, but why shouldn’t they be? They earned a place in the memory box.
Fast forward six years to a new chapter of adulthood. One that isn’t surrounded by the morning and evening commuters racing around the city, and weekend shin digs with dozens of friends ready to hang at a moment’s notice. But by the slower tune of calm suburbia and pancakes at home on Sunday mornings. All the while, as pace seems to slow, time seems to speed into overdrive.
While listening to a podcast episode recently one statement struck me to the core: “Happiness is the joy we feel striving toward our potential.” Shawn Achor told this to Oprah when asked the question: What is happiness?
I’ve heard similar things before, but Shawn’s answer really got me. A reminder that it’s not the milestones we should seek, but the work it takes to reach them. It’s about finding magic in the mundane. Making the work, the daily habits, or whatever else it might be while on your way to something greater, fun.
Feeling inspired lately to make everyday moments more meaningful, and to create magic and a sense of pride even in the little things. To practice self-care daily and do everyday rituals that feel good. To make this ordinary point in time that is seemingly in between milestones extraordinary, and with the intention of looking back not at one turning point in particular, but at a moment in time where I was striving toward my potential. A moment in time that I look back on and think those were the days.
