The power of the ✨Magic Circumstance✨
Wield it wisely, witches and wizards 🪄
I’ve told you that getting what you want will not magically solve all your problems and make you feel happy, peaceful, and safe forever.
That getting what you want is an amplifier, not a converter…
And that saying, “I’ll be happy when I get there” is like saying “Winning the lottery will make me left-handed.”
Getting what you want is an outcome.
Feeling safe, happy, peaceful, in control, on top of things, in flow are habits.
And outcomes don’t change habits.
The only way to change a habit is to…do the work to change the habit.
AND, no matter how many times I might tell you that…
I know that your brain is probably still hooked on some ✨Magic Circumstances✨
There’s probably a part of your brain that still really, really believes that if you JUST get that thing, you’ll feel better and everything will be okay.
If I JUST sign that one big client…
If I JUST find a partner who loves me…
If I JUST lose those last few pounds…
If I JUST had a side hustle that made as much as my job pays me…
In fact, I want you to take a moment and dream 💭
Lean back, relax, and let your mind wander.
Let your brain tell you what it fantasizes about.
Imagine that ideal life. The world where you have everything you want.
What do you have in that world?
Millions of dollars?
A beautiful house on the coast?
The unwavering love and admiration of others?
A close relationship with your family?
A sense of secure status and place in the world?
A clear sense of who you are and what you’re here to do?
A system finally figured out? A big decision made with confidence? A nut, cracked? A puzzle, figured out for good?
For the past to have gone differently? For something to have happened, or not to have happened?
Let yourself lean back and dream.
Let your brain tell you what it really, really wants.
No judgment. No shame. No admonishments about impracticality or ungratefulness. “That’s not possible!” “You already have that!” “You should be thankful!”
Just allow the answer to emerge, like a submarine rising from the depths.
That answer is your Magic Circumstance(s).
Now, there’s nothing wrong with your brain being hooked on Magic Circumstances.
You don’t have to do a million hours of coaching and therapy and meditation and journaling to release your attachment to that circumstance and convince your brain that you would be okay even if you didn’t get that thing.
Just for today, we’re skipping that work altogether.
Instead, I’m going to show you how to use your brain’s attachment to Magic Circumstances to your advantage…
And therefore turn Magic Circumstances into a source of power.
Because here’s the thing about your brain…
It can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality anyway.
By which I mean: You tend to feel the same emotions whether something is actually happening to you or you’re just thinking about it happening.
This is why worrying feels so terrible — you’re feeling all the emotions you would feel if the bad thing actually happened, just by thinking about it.
This is also why visualization is so powerful — athletes solidify the neural pathways that help them do what they do and genuinely improve their performance, just by thinking about it.
So here’s how to turn Magic Circumstances into a source of power 🪄
Hold the Magic Circumstance in your mind and ask:
IF I already had this… How would I handle the situation in front of me?
IF I had already signed that big client…how would I approach this meeting?
IF I already had a partner who loves me…what would I be doing this weekend?
IF my side hustle already made as much as my job pays me…how would I spend my time?
Now here’s the key:
Don’t try to answer logically 📈
Let your brain answer associatively 🕸️
Logical thinking is structured, linear, and conditional.
if A, then B
else if C, then D
And B and D can’t both be true at the same time.
You’re either on the A ➡️ B path OR you’re on the C ➡️ D path.
You can’t be on both at once, and you can’t jump between points.
The result of your thinking is pre-determined by the rules you set upfront.
Associative thinking is freeform, non-linear, and non-conditional.
A makes me think of G which kind of reminds of L which makes me think of Q which randomly made R pop up, and also D for some reason, idk
If logical thinking is a straight line, associative thinking is a web.
Lots of points on the web can be lit up at the same time.
There are no set pathways — you can jump anywhere you want.
The result of your thinking evolves through organic discovery — there are no pre-determined rules.
Which means that all kinds of unexpected connections can happen anytime.
When you hold the Magic Circumstance in your mind and ask: IF I already had this… How would I handle the situation in front of me?
The logical answer to this question probably isn’t that useful to you.
It’s probably something like…
If I’d already signed this big client…I wouldn’t even be having this meeting.
If I already had a partner who loved me…I wouldn’t spend the weekend going on dates.
If my side hustle already made as much as my job pays me…I’d quit my job right now.
But don’t answer the question logically.
Let your brain answer the question associatively.
The associative answer to this question is VERY useful to you.
So I want you to hold the Magic Circumstance in your mind the way you would hold a Werther’s candy in your mouth 🍬
Yep, just like this one :)
Don’t crunch-crunch-crunch on the candy and finish it in 10 seconds.
Hold onto it.
Let it dissolve slowly.
Taste it in your mouth.
Let the butterscotch flavor permeate bit by bit.
Let it sink into your system.
If I’d already signed this big client…
I’d feel like I know what I’m doing…
And I’d feel like I’m supposed to be here….
And I’d feel like I have nothing to lose — anything else is just icing on the cake…
And when I’m feeling that way, here’s how I approach that meeting.
If I already had a partner who loved me…
I’d feel like I’m an attractive person…
I’d feel like picking out nice clothes to wear because I deserve it…
I’d feel like my problems aren’t too big to handle…
And when I’m feeling that way, here’s what I do this weekend.
If my side hustle already made as much as my job pays me…
I’d feel confident. Nothing at work can touch me. I can walk away anytime…
I’d feel enriched. My life is so full. I have two complete and complementary identities — one at work and one in my side business…
I’d feel fulfilled. It’s so fun to do what you love and make money doing it too…
And when I’m feeling that way, here’s how I spend my time.
I told you that getting an outcome won’t permanently change how you feel day-to-day.
Because getting what you want is an outcome.
And how you feel day-to-day is a habit.
And outcomes don’t change habits.
The only way to change the habit of how you feel day-to-day…is to do the work to change the habit of how you feel day-to-day
This is one way of changing that habit.
Hold your Magic Circumstance in your mind like you’d hold a candy in your mouth 🍬
Let the idea of having that thing permeate, dissolve, swirl around, percolate…
And answer the question — associatively, not logically!
IF I already had this thing… How would I handle the situation in front of me?
This is my mission in life.
I am here to teach you a simple and repeatable mental & emotional toolkit that allows you to access flow and access the best, smartest, wisest, kindest, truest version of you more consistently and more reliably every single day.
That’s what I’m here to do.
I teach you that toolkit piece by piece in all my free content. (Think of it as the “light dose” of what I have to offer.)
I’m putting together a course & coaching program to teach you the toolkit more systematically and offer extended application support. (“Medium dose” — currently in pilot mode and coming soon!)
And I offer one-on-one coaching where we buckle in, set some goals, and make a plan to both “get you some fish” AND “teach you the skill of fishing” all at once. (“Heavy dose” — let’s get this done.)
I think learning this toolkit and learning how to access the best version of you on a consistent basis every day is a priceless investment.
This is the unlock that unlocks everything else.
Let’s start today.
What my clients have to say…
“I'm a 2x startup founder and ex-corporate strategy/innovation manager who’s already learnt best practices from Cal Newport and read several books on being effective with time and energy.
Previous executive coaches I’ve worked with were only helpful for 2-3 sessions and either had too rigid structures or couldn’t keep up intellectually.
Within the first 2 sessions, Pooja helped me achieve a new level of performance. Her style of running quick experiments to map emotional reactions and key assumptions allowed us to quickly find opportunities to adjust my mental model and implement solutions that weren't possible with previous ways of thinking.
Please don't work with Pooja, because she’s one of my secret superpowers.”
—Client | Startup Founder
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