Recommendation
Reviewer's note
prolog

Part 1.
swirl

Chapter 1.
descending vortex
How do vortices begin and develop?

Chapter 2.
rising vortex
Step 1: Listen to the question. Step 2: Reveal the question and develop an answer. Step 3: Provide a wise and elegant answer.

Part 2.
Three questions for me

Chapter 3.
Do I belong here?
The threat of stereotypes created by a history of separation and exclusion┃The sense of belonging: The moment when a small incident becomes a 'signal'┃Is this the problem, or am I the problem?┃Don't give a difficult day more meaning┃How to get on the 'upward escalator' of life┃The upward spiral created by the thought, "I am not alone"┃Wise intervention can rewrite the story of reality

Chapter 4.
Can I do it?
Why Do We Fail to Achieve Our Goals? ┃The Devil's Whispers: When Doubts Are Planted in Our Heads ┃The Illusion of Tiredness: What Drives Willpower ┃How to Find and Pursue the Goals That Matter to You

Chapter 5.
Who am I?
Who is telling your story? ┃Tell your own story, breaking free from the old, hackneyed narratives. ┃How to acknowledge the existence of others as they are. ┃Guide and safeguards: nouns and verbs.
spotlight.
How can we solve the problem of global poverty?
Is it okay to feel pity for someone who is poor?┃What kind of people can we become and what can we do?

Part 3.
Two Questions That Will Change Your Relationship

Chapter 6.
Do you love me?
Relationship Intervention #1: What You Need for a Happy Marriage | Relationship Intervention #2: How to Be a Good Parent | Relationship Intervention #3: Friendships That Show You 'Just Who You Are'

Chapter 7.
Are you a trustworthy person?
Why Do Some Interactions Start Negatively? ┃How Mentors and Mentees Can Grow Together
spotlight.
How can we improve vulnerable educational environments?
One Letter That Changed My Life┃Raising the Bar: “I’m a Good Kid.”

Part 4.
Questions that change the world

Chapter 8.
Towards a better world
For Wise Interventions to Work Properly┃The Power of Leadership to Improve Others' Experiences┃How to Motivate Individuals and Organizations
Floodlight.
What can we do to make schools smarter?
How to avoid uncomfortable questions feeling uncomfortable┃The motivation needed to create a smart classroom

Acknowledgements
annotation

How do the whirlpools that change the course of life begin and unfold?

In 2014, then-First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama gave a speech in which she recalled her experience as a freshman at Princeton University.

“As the first college student in my family, the only person I knew on campus was my older brother (*her older brother had been accepted to Princeton on a basketball scholarship two years before her).
I didn't know which lectures to take, and it was difficult to find my way to the lecture hall.
Even the bed sheets I had prepared didn't fit the dorm bed.
I didn't know dorm beds were that long.
“Because of this, I felt depressed and a little left out.”

She vividly remembered one day 33 years ago when she was embarrassed because her bed sheets were the wrong size.
Why did something that might have seemed like a minor mistake, not even a case of racist insult, etch itself so strongly in her memory? Because it was a "trigger" for her.
I was faced with a question that was working inside me without me realizing it: 'Can I really be accepted as a human being and move forward in this place where I don't know a single person and where there are only white people and I can't even prepare a single sheet for my dorm bed?'
There are countless little things in our lives that trigger these 'negative triggers'.
A single thoughtless word from someone, a small mistake that can be laughed off, a minor misunderstanding can create a butterfly effect that makes you doubt that you are not good enough, and that doubt can quickly lead to a downward spiral that changes the direction of your life.

"Ordinaty Magic" examines these questions we ask ourselves at crucial crossroads that determine the direction of our lives and shows us how to find the right answers to these questions using a psychological tool called "Wise Intervention."
The author, a professor of psychology at Stanford University and a world-renowned expert in growth research, emphasizes that only when you can avoid the negative flow caused by these questions and come up with a "different interpretation," can you truly design your life in the direction you want.

Just one question, just one letter,
Just 21 minutes of conversation can completely change the direction of your life!
The psychology of change design, as revealed by Stanford University through decades of research and experimentation.

All dramatic changes happen quietly, just below the surface of consciousness.
Just as the slightest flap of a butterfly's wings can, over time, bring about a huge storm.
And those wings are made up of very ordinary words and actions.
Through the metaphor of the "spiral," the author meticulously traces how the small emotions and perceptions we encounter in our daily lives can be amplified and completely change our identity and the trajectory of our lives.
Part 1 covers the core questions we ask when faced with a triggering event, when and under what circumstances these questions arise, how they escalate into a downward spiral, and how we can reverse this process and turn it into an upward spiral.

In the following parts 2 and 3, we address five of the most fundamental questions we face in life.
We explore how answering these questions can help you calm your inner anxieties, believe in your own potential, build strong relationships, and build trust with others.
The five questions are about belonging ('Do I belong here?'), about goal achievement and competence ('Can I do it?'), about identity ('Who am I?'), about my closest relationships ('Do you love me?'), and about trust and respect within the community ('Are you trustworthy?').
The author says that when doubts about this arise in our subconscious, we can use a simple but powerful psychological tool called 'wise intervention' to prevent our minds from falling into the downward spiral and ride the upward spiral.

Sometimes these interventions are so trivial and so 'routine' that they seem almost magical.
How can a one-hour survey improve GPA three years later, a 21-minute conversation save a marriage, a postcard save someone's life, and a 17-word note increase a middle school student's chances of going to college? But the direction of our lives can change 180 degrees depending on the questions we ask in a given situation and how we interpret them.
Because when your interpretation of a situation changes, your thinking changes, and that leads to changes in behavior.

Wise intervention is not a mathematical formula with a set answer.
It is not a technology that requires complex specialized knowledge.
It manifests itself in various everyday language and behaviors depending on the situation, time, cultural context, past experiences, and the relationship between the intervener and the intervened.
What matters is how naturally this intervention occurs, in the ‘right way’ and at the ‘right time’.
When this carefully designed intervention, taking into account the individual's psychological situation, is applied appropriately, we can break free from the self-imposed label of "failure," believe in the possibility of recovery, and feel trust and a sense of belonging within the community.
That way, you can find the right answer for yourself and move forward.

Don't let minor misfortunes consume your life.
There is a better way to live every life.

The effectiveness of 'wise interventions' has already been proven through rigorous research and experiments conducted by numerous researchers, as well as through follow-up and longitudinal studies spanning over a decade.
This is why leading American psychology scholars, including Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth, evaluate author Gregory Walton as “the most noteworthy psychologist of our time.”
His research has been widely used as a practical and effective intervention strategy in various areas of life, including education, organizations, and interpersonal relationships, and this research is also leading to actual changes in the field.
The psychological intervention program designed and distributed by the author's research team was delivered online to middle and high school students and college freshmen across the United States, and it increased students' sense of belonging, improved student-teacher interaction, and improved academic performance.

If you are at a crossroads in life, if you are shaken by inner doubts and anxieties, or if you want to change the direction of your life even a little, this book will be of great help.
This book demonstrates how small but powerful psychological interventions can lead to sustained growth, deeper relationships, and healthier communities. It will be the beginning of a new vision for ourselves, others, and society.