Book & podcast collection

Ordinary Magic: The Science of How We Can Achieve Big Change with Small Acts

byGregory M. Walton

Social psychologist Gregory M. Walton explores how small changes in interpretation can alter behavior, belonging, and opportunity. Drawing on decades of research in schools, workplaces, health, and relationships, he shows how brief but carefully designed interventions can interrupt self-reinforcing cycles of doubt and exclusion. These acts are not magic shortcuts; they work when they address the meaning people assign to difficult experiences and when supportive environments reinforce the new interpretation. The book explains both the promise and the limits of such interventions, offering a humane account of how ordinary actions can help produce lasting change.

Publisher

Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale

Publication date

2025

Format

Print edition

Pages

464

ISBN

9780593580899