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How to look at your fears differently

How to look at your fears differently

In this issue: "diving deeper" into self-doubt, how to visualize with simple shapes and arrows, what to do when overwhelmed with your to-do list, how fear is stronger in our imagination, and what Death can teach us about rest 👀

PJ Milani
March 19, 2025

🤔 INTERESTING

Illustration by milaniCREATIVE.art depicting the perception versus reality of self-doubt. The top panel, labeled ‘Perception,’ shows a person standing at the edge of a cliff, looking at deep water between them and a diamond on the other side. The bottom panel, labeled ‘After Taking Action,’ reveals that the water was only shallow, shown by a close-up of a small splash as the person steps in, symbolizing how self-doubt often exaggerates obstacles.

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❝

Fear is a mile wide, an inch deep.

Leila Hormozi

You stand at the edge, convincing yourself the water’s too deep.
You take a step, but you don’t sink! Your foot hits solid ground.
You question why you doubted yourself for so long.

You change—action always clears the mud in your head.
You remember fear grows in hesitation, shrinks in motion.
You move forward—realizing the gap was all in your mind.

Inaction magnifies self-doubt → Action shrinks it

📐 DESIGN

The most common reason people don’t create visual metaphors is the limiting belief they “can’t draw.” But visual metaphors isn’t about “making things pretty,” it’s about making things pithy.

Today’s bite-sized lesson is how we can communicate big ideas with simple shapes and arrows!

I’ll keep it short & sweet with 3 examples:

There’s no doubt people are more attracted to pretty things. But the good news is you don’t have to be Leonardo da Vinci to make images that get readers to think.

When you’re ready to learn more, you can sign up for the waitlist for Thinking in Visual Metaphors.

🔮 ENCHANTING

Illustration by milaniCREATIVE.art depicting the importance of recognizing past accomplishments. At the top, a figure looks at a magnified ‘To-Do List,’ appearing overwhelmed. Below, a massive staircase made of completed checklists represents their ‘Have-Done List,’ emphasizing the progress already made. The text reads, ‘When overwhelmed with your to-do list, remember your have-done list,’ reinforcing the message of acknowledging achievements.

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❝

When you are anxious because of your to-do list, take comfort in your have-done list.

Kevin Kelly

Inspired by Kevin Kelly's book, "Excellent Advice for Living"

🧠 ANALOGY

Illustration by milaniCREATIVE.art depicting the contrast between perceived and actual fear of failure. On the left, labeled ‘In Your Head,’ a person stands before a massive boulder labeled ‘Fear of Failure,’ representing an overwhelming mental barrier. On the right, labeled ‘In Reality,’ the same person watches as a tiny deflated balloon harmlessly floats away, symbolizing how failure is often much smaller and less impactful than we imagine.

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❝

We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.

Seneca

🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW

“Death Wins A Goldfish” by Brian Rea

What if Death was forced to take a vacation by HR?

“Death Wins A Goldfish” by Brian Rea is a short, charming book. Rea’s drawings are messy and “scribbly” but I find them delightful. These days, it’s been unusually tough to get myself to rest (sounds like a bad answer to an interview question, doesn’t it? “Oh my biggest weakness? I never rest from working! 😬” Hah!). So the premise of Death taking a vacation hit me kind of hard.

There’s a short excerpt from the introduction that nailed a truth many creators and entrepreneurs will probably resonate with:

“There are many benefits to being an artist that I’m grateful for, but if there is any downside, it might be that I’m never able to “shut things down.”

There are few breaks from working or thinking about working; there’s always a project in my mind, something I’m working on at the moment, or a new potential project down the road. The light “in the office” is always on.”

I also loved this analogy written below: “I’ve never learned when to row my boat and when to rest my oars, but maybe lying in that field was a good place to start.”

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