Have you ever stopped to consider what magic has given you? Apart from, that is, a hobby or a semi professional income or even a full time job? Because I think being a magician actually provides us all with a number of big side benefits which we may not always appreciate. Here are some of the things I feel it has provided for me.
Self-esteem. When others discover that you are a magician, their view of you immediately changes. Suddenly you become someone who is more interesting than the average person, and more often than not, this leads to questions about your interest which go beyond mere polite enquiry or conversation. Your standing in the eyes of others is elevated in a way that few other interests can match – would you be as fascinating if you said you were a passionate fly fisherman or an avid model plane maker? I don’t think so!
Confidence. By its very nature, magic performance requires us to stand up in front of groups of people and talk and present to them. For most people this is not a natural fit, as many people often have a genuine fear of being required to speak in public, and so it requires an above average level of personal confidence. When I was a child I was very shy, but magic helped me to come out of my shell and become a much more confident person. When you are required to walk up to total strangers and talk to them as part of your act, it soon fills you with a self assurance that can help you in your more mundane social activities.
Brain stimulation. Understanding how magic works and decoding instructions for tricks in order to be able to perform them requires you to have a fairly analytical mind, and certainly one that is capable of translating instructions into action. If you have ever seen total lay people trying to follow even the simplest of trick instructions, you will soon realise that we magicians have quite a refined and particular brain that allows us to understand and perform our magic.
A lifelong interest. Unlike most sporting activities, magic is not something that you normally have to give up as your years progress. Of course illness or physical/mental problems can hamper a person’s ability to perform, but generally speaking a passion for magic will often last a lifetime. The subject itself is vast and the process of learning never really comes to an end making magic endlessly fascinating for those of us who are bitten by the magic bug.
Mental health. Magic is a wonderful brain exercising tool too. Learning new tricks, getting to grips with magical concepts and theories, stretching your imagination in order to create new ideas, all of these things help you keep you mentally agile and healthy. In the same way that they say that crosswords help to nurture good mental health, so does magic.
Interest and engagement. We all sit for hours in front of screens of one sort or another being force fed content that requires no effort on our part to process. Magic, on the other hand, constantly challenges our intellect and our problem solving skills, and requires us to actively engage with what we are seeing. It creates a level of interest often not matched elsewhere, making magic a uniquely beneficial facet of our lives.
So, what has magic given to you?