The other day, someone told me about a study I haven't been able to stop thinking about. A psychologist recruited two groups of people — those who saw themselves as lucky, and those who didn't — and gave them one simple task: flip through a newspaper and count the photographs inside.
Hidden inside were two large, impossible-to-miss messages. The first read: "Stop counting — there are 43 photographs in this newspaper." A little further on, another offered a cash prize just for noticing it. Not hidden. Not subtle. Printed in bold, taking up half a page — practically jumping off the paper.
And here's what the study found: the lucky group noticed those messages almost immediately. They'd flip through, laugh, and say "It says 43 — do you still want me to count?" A few pages later: "Do I get my prize?" Relaxed and open, they caught what was right in front of them.
The unlucky group? Most flipped right past those same messages — too locked in on counting to notice the opportunities staring back at them.
That truth hit me right in the chest.
I've been called an eternal optimist more times than I can count, and I wear that title proudly. But I want you to know something — optimism isn't a personality trait I was simply born with. It's a choice I make. Every single day.
I choose to see the signs.
I choose to notice the little joys.
I choose to hear the birds chirping outside my window each morning.
I choose to celebrate the small wins, the tiny moments, the everyday magic that could so easily slip by unnoticed.
And I think about that study often — not because of the newspaper or the photographs, but because of what it says about how we move through our days. When we're relaxed and open, we notice things. We catch the little gifts tucked into ordinary moments. A neighbor waving from across the street. A song that plays at just the right time. A quiet morning that feels like a deep breath. Those things were always there. We just have to be willing to see them.
This week, move through your days like the lucky people in that study — relaxed, open, and wide-eyed. Not laser-focused on one thing, but present enough to catch what life is quietly offering. Let yourself feel lucky — not because everything is perfect, but because you've chosen to see the beauty that's already there.
Because I truly believe this: the more we choose to notice joy, the more joy seems to find us. It's not magic. It's mindset. And it's yours for the taking.
I promise, it's all around you. You just have to choose to see it.
💛 Christiana
