There’s a kind of magic in the world that you only truly believe in once you’ve felt it for yourself. I’m not talking about fairy dust or lucky charms—I’m talking about the real, lived magic that happens when you finally get out of your own way and let yourself be guided by something bigger. The “universe”, source energy, the quiet voice within–call it what you will–I’ve experienced its magic too many times to dismiss it as coincidence, and I’ve watched it transform the lives of people I love, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
Trusting the Universe in Times of Uncertainty
Let me take you back a few months when everything in my life felt up in the air. I was working a maternity cover job at a council in Oxfordshire, surrounded by people who made me feel seen and valued. The pay wasn’t great, but the work filled my soul in ways money never could. For the first time, I started to believe that maybe—just maybe—I could branch out on my own.
Then, out of nowhere, our landlord decided to sell up. We were happy where we were, but there was nothing available in our lovely little town, and after six happy years, suddenly we had to move. After a dozen failed viewings, we ended up in Winchester (a near-miss on the road one Sunday sent us off our planned route and straight into the heart of the city–and it felt like home the moment we arrived). It was one of those moments when you realise life is nudging you in a new direction, even if you can’t see why.
And here’s the funny thing, had we stayed in Oxfordshire, I probably would have taken that council job full-time—due to personal circumstances, the woman I was covering couldn’t return, and so the job could have been mine. It would have been safe and familiar, but not really what I wanted. Instead, I am now setting up my own business, launching a podcast, and finally finishing the manuscript I started four years ago.
Similarly, my writer husband met a comedy troupe soon after we arrived in Winchester. He only ever dabbled in his passion for comedy in Australia, but is now writing sketches with some well-known comedy writers for a possible new TV show. We’re not earning a penny from these new adventures (yet), but we’re both more alive than we’ve ever been.
The Friend Who Needed a Reminder
This brings me to a conversation I had just this morning with a girlfriend in Australia. We’ve known each other for 35 years, so there’s no pretending with her. She’s brilliant, creative, and loved by everyone who meets her—but since her media job was made redundant last year, she has found herself drifting, applying for roles that don’t light her up but seem “sensible”.
This morning, she asked my advice about taking an admin job in the public sector—a world away from the media work that is her oxygen. She is also on the shortlist for a maternity cover at a major media company, doing the kind of job that would make her heart sing, even if only for the short term.
And so I asked her, “If your daughter came to you with these two choices, what would you tell her?” Instantly, she knew. She’d tell her daughter to go for the job she loved, to trust that the next step would appear when the time was right.
So why is it so hard to give ourselves the same advice we’d give to the people we love most?
The Universe Leaves Clues
Here’s the thing: the only reason my friend even knew about the media job was because she bumped into an old colleague a few months ago. She didn’t plan it, she didn’t strategise—she just had a casual chat with an old friend and was honest about where her life was at. That former colleague ended up recommending her to someone at the media company, and when a job opened up, they got in touch.
That’s the magic, right there!
As Steve Jobs famously said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” It’s only in hindsight that we see how the universe was quietly rearranging things on our behalf long before we knew what we wanted or needed.
Why We Don’t Trust Ourselves (and How We Can Start)
So why do we resist this magic? Why do we talk ourselves out of what we want, even when the signs are right in front of us? I think it’s because we’ve been taught to value certainty over joy, to listen to the loudest voice in our head—even when, all too often, it’s not even our own voice speaking.
I’ve come to realise that we actually have the power to choose the voice we use inside our heads. So often, that internal monologue sounds like a harsh parent or an old critic—quick to judge, slow to encourage. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can consciously shift that voice, replacing criticism with kindness and judgement with support. As Brené Brown so wisely says, “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”
That’s what I told my friend: start advising yourself the way you’d advise your daughter or anyone else you care about, and trust that the universe is conspiring in your favour, even if you can’t see the outcome yet.
“What you seek is seeking you.“
–Rumi
A Little More Magic, a Little Less Fear
If you’re standing at a crossroads, unsure which way to go, remember this, the magic isn’t in knowing every step. It’s in saying yes to what lights you up, trusting that the next door will open when you’re ready. One of my all-time favourite books is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, which beautifully explores the mysteries of creativity and trust. She puts it perfectly: “The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.”
I should add a caveat here: if your faith or trust in the universe is tied to a specific outcome, that’s not true trust—it’s just wishful thinking. When we’re attached to how things “should” turn out, we’re still trying to control the narrative of our lives, and that blocks the very magic we’re hoping to invite in. To truly trust the universe is to believe that the outcome—whatever it may be—will be right for you, even if it looks different from what you imagined. That’s where the real magic lies because, more often than not, the universe has something greater in store for you than you could possibly dream for yourself.
So, if you’re waiting for a sign, maybe this is it. Trust your gut. Follow the magic. And when in doubt, talk to yourself like you would to someone you love. The magic is real—and it’s waiting for you to say yes.
