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Building a creative habit in 2025
In this issue: a new favorite word, building a creative habit, what to do when you're tired, and the difference between thinking and overthinking.
PJ Milani
December 10, 2024
In partnership with
🤔 INTERESTING
One of my favorite idea learned this year from Adam Grant:
the word "sonder" from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig
Some of my other favorites from the dictionary:
HARMONIA
n.an itchy sense of dread when life feels just a hint too peaceful—when everyone seems to get along suspiciously well, with an eerie stillness that makes you want to brace for the inevitable collapse, or burn it down yourself.
(I feel like I’m in an unhealthy constant state of harmonia. Am I the only one? 🤔)
ANCHORAGE
n.the desire to hold on to time as it passes, like trying to keep your grip on a rock in the middle of a river, feeling the weight of the current against your chest while your elders float on downstream, calling over the roar of the rapids, “Just let go—it’s okay—let go.”
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📐 DESIGN
Building a creative practice isn’t just about making illustrations. Here’s a short highlight from my chat with Roberto Ferraro on the value of starting and keeping a consistent creative habit.
The start of a new year is a perfect time to dive into making stuff of your own!
🔮 ENCHANTING
There's a reason why dough must rest before it can rise.
This is something I'm still working on.
Resting may seem commonsensical, but when you've built habits around rolling forward at full momentum, it can be tough slowing down.
Earlier this year, I scheduled a weekend to relax, but I was shocked how little I could shut off without feeling guilty or anxious I should be doing more. It wasn't until last month when I got sick I realized there's only so far you can go if you don't learn to rest.
🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW
While traveling Japan, I came across “Zen Wisdom for the Anxious” by Zen Buddhist monk, Shinsuke Hosokawa. If you like abstract and thought-provoking nuggets of timeless wisdom, you might dig it. Sealed in it are beautiful metaphors conveying Zen principles like:
A white horse disappears in a field of white flowers,
but that does not mean it is gone.
“As long as you focus on what’s in front of you, you will always find your way.”
Become a cooling shading tree for others.
“Making just one other person happy is in itself happiness.”
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