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Erin McMahon: [00:00:03] Hello, this is Erin from Seek the Magic. Excited to speak to you today. I am hoping this microphone is working because we've had a few issues. It's a journey. I wonder if it's a sign from the universe that I need to get a new microphone. I don't know, we'll see. I was inspired to speak today because I've heard a few messages from various things I've been reading, listening to, even conversations with friends that have reminded me to get back to things that bring me joy and things that I loved from childhood. So I thought I'd share that with you and think about my musings with that. To one conversation I had with a friend was that she went through the exercise of thinking about the 50 things that she loved doing. Of course, it was very easy for her to come up with maybe one, two and three, but as it got down the list, it really made her think about the things that bring her joy. So I decided to make a similar list. And, you know, top things that bring me joy are spending time with my kids, spending time with my family, reading good books, working out, running when I can. Now it's meditation, speaking to friends, really making connections. And I had to think about, you know, as I reflected on the list, I thought some of these things that really bring me joy also aren't things that I immediately want to do in the moment. Erin McMahon: [00:01:50] Like, do I really want to work out today? Or do I wish I had a break from spending some time with my kids? Or do I wish I didn't have to have a scheduled Zoom session with friends? Yes, that's true. Sometimes I don't want to do those things. And my mind, some part of my mind says, oh my goodness, wouldn't it be just easier to get other things I need to done, get things off of my to do list, or surf the internet, look at what clothes I do or do not need for the upcoming season, catch up on the latest Taylor Swift costumes that have come out from her European tour, anything like that. And you know, that's part of my brain that's seeking immediate gratification, looking for small little hits of dopamine that would temporarily soothe my mind and some of the things that require more effort and take more attention aren't necessarily as motivating. Just like, you know, when I'm with my kids and we're out in the park, it's so much fun. But then there's, you know, part of the inertia or, you know, is getting them ready, going through the process, it takes effort. And, I don't know, part of my brain's like, yeah, I'd rather just hang out and just chill. And I think, yes, there's part of me that just wants to relax all the time, but obviously relaxing all the time and doing nothing really doesn't lead to ultimate fulfillment and great memories. Erin McMahon: [00:03:37] So I think it's important to take those moments of, you know, what you want to do during the day, and you know what things may call part of your brain into question, saying, do we really have to do that, and just sort of, you know, saying, put that to the side. I know, I know, this will take effort, but in the long run, once you get into something, it'll be really exciting. It will create a memory, it'll create moments, and quite often it does. But man, sometimes that part of my brain, especially when I've had, you know, a very busy week, a very busy day, etc, my brain's just like, can we just chill? Let's just, you know, hang out and, you know, part of that is important and sometimes you have to listen to that part of the brain. But I think it's a balance. When do we listen to it? When do we not listen to it? I don't know, I'd love to know your thoughts or how you think about it. There's other - and sometimes this is the same voice, sometimes it's a different voice - that says, okay, if I'm taking this time to meet and talk to someone, I'm not doing the 20 things on my to-do list, whether it be, you know, something for work, whether it be something that I need to file administratively, whether it be, you know, just a myriad of things that are going on in that never-ending to-do list. Erin McMahon: [00:05:06] And I think those things on that list, while they're important and while they need to get done, they're not the fulfilling things that I'm going to remember. And maybe that's an important point to note that I should make sure my to-do list is for, filled with fulfilling things that, you know, will make me happy and joyful. So maybe that's a note to self. Maybe I'll try to make two to-do lists. One is going to be the fulfilling and enjoyment to-do list, and then the other one is going to be like things that I really won't remember about in a week's time, but need to get done for XYZ reason. I write myself email note reminders all the time, mostly with those things that maybe need to get done but I won't, you know, remember about in 5 or 10 minutes or, you know, a day. Of course, if they don't get done, like for example, paying the electricity bill, although that's an automated, but, you know, for example, if they don't get done then I will notice that it hasn't gotten done when, you know, the lights go out or if the car runs out of gas or something like that. Yeah maybe it's important to have two to-do lists. One that's the important memories that we have or the things that truly will bring us joy and we'll remember. And then those other things that, you know, we'll have have some time that are important to get done, but we won't remember. Speaking of one of the things that brings me joy, butterfly, and a butterfly just floated past the window, which is an amazing and beautiful sight in the swarm of cicadas that have been flying around over the past few weeks. Okay, so that's a list of things that bring me joy in trying to focus on things that bring joy and are great to cherish in the moment and then future moments. Erin McMahon: [00:07:02] The other part of this, or in the same realm, is things that brought me joy in childhood, and part of this is part of an exercise of, you know, a class I'm taking about spiritual development and self-development and coaching and things like that, is reflecting on what made me happy as a kid and what had made us happy as kids, what brought us joy as kids that we don't necessarily do anymore, or we've kind of, you know, some part of us has said that's not important to do anymore. When I was little, I loved to put on my own plays in the living room and have my younger sibling and cousins act out the various parts. I was, you know, 3 to 4 years older. So I was the boss. I used to pretend I was a teacher and have little classroom wherever I was and would speak to my imaginary students. Erin McMahon: [00:08:13] I loved, loved writing. I would make little chapter books of, you know, very short length, but about things that happened or that I wanted to happen in my life. One of the favorite ones I remember was when we, we were living in England at the time, we were going to Hawaii for my uncle's wedding, and I wrote before I had ever been to Hawaii, I wrote a little chapter book about what it was like to go to Hawaii and the adventures I had there. But somehow that dropped off and it dropped off, I think, when I came back to the US, maybe around middle school, and part of that was because I think because I had some teachers who said I was a great writer, but then I of course remember that I had teachers that didn't think I was a great writer. So I decided not to lean into the fiction writing as much. So maybe that's something that I will continue in, investigate a bit more. In elementary school I think I liked being on stage in middle school. That stopped. Certainly don't love being on stage now, but suddenly, you know, have the urge to get my voice out there somehow, hence the podcast. So that's something I'm returning to. And so those are a few of the things that I loved during childhood that I'm thinking about now. Erin McMahon: [00:09:42] I went through a period of not really reading as much, and that was something I absolutely loved in childhood and I re-embraced in adulthood after a period of about five years, and now I have stacks of books everywhere, much like I did when I was a kid. And that truly brings me so much joy and I will, I don't see ever giving that up and something I hope to share with my children. So that's just one example of something that I've incorporated back into my life that's been amazing. And of course, having kids, you know, reintroduces the playful mentality. And so it makes you or makes me think a little bit more about what I did like as a kid, what I would like doing with my kids, what my kids might like. But it's a process. And that's something that I would encourage you to do because it, you know, in many ways, sometimes when we look at things through a child's perspective, they do seem much more magical and interesting. And if it's something that, you know, we've stored away it might not seem practical to do anymore. Or may not even seem comfortable to do anymore. I think it's worth exploring just to see why we liked it as a kid and what thread can we pull from that experience when we, you know, had no judgment or societal constraints around what we wanted to do? And how can we bring that back to the present moment? So I would encourage you to, for this movement of seek the magic, to think about the things you love now and make sure that you're spending some time every day doing those and focusing on those, even though they might not, you know, be the easiest things to start. Erin McMahon: [00:11:50] Part of your mind might say, why are we doing this, I wish I didn't have to do this, I need to do more important things like, you know, this administrative task or pay the taxes or something like that, and instead make sure that every day is filled with doing things, or not filled, at least partially doing things that we will remember and we'll cherish. So two to-do lists, one for the love of it and one for the, you know, for those things that we absolutely have to do. And then on top of that, reflect upon what you liked as a kid, and, you know, why you liked it, why it brought you joy. And maybe think about how we can bring that back to the present moment and do what we find fun. For me, I'm going to start with, well, I'll say that my quote/unquote stage is the podcast, which is not the current stage. So it is a little easier for getting my mind close to speak on stage. But then also I will try writing as well. So that's it. That's the thought I am coming away from today, and I hope that you can seek the magic in your day today. Take care. Bye.