The bumps you’re feeling doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong road

In this issue: what you can start today, creative habits, why the bumps you're feeling are a sign you're heading in the right direction, and maintaining a growth mindset in the face of mistakes.

Author

PJ Milani
January 13, 2026

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📐 DESIGN

Today’s lesson at first blush feels may feel like it has nothing to do with design. But your creative habits have everything to do with what you actually make.

Visual metaphor by milaniCREATIVE.art titled “New Habits,” showing four horizontal timelines that represent how small daily changes compound over time. Each timeline is labeled with a different milestone. “Today,” “In a Week,” “In a Month,” and “In a Year”, with corresponding shapes (a square, diamond, rounded rectangle, and circle) placed further along the timeline to visually mark progress. The shapes grow smoother as time passes, symbolizing the increasing impact of consistent habit formation. The image highlights how tiny actions taken today can lead to meaningful transformation with time.

The morning is when I feel most creative so for me, the number one creative habit I’m working on is waking up early. And I. Am. STRUGGLING! 🫠

But with time, it will get easier. I’m not giving up!

So here’s my question this week: What one habit (if you could could get into it) would help you be more creative?

Reply and let me know. While I can't write back to everyone, I read every response!

🔮 ENCHANTING 

A lesson I have to learn over and over again:

Sometimes the bumps you’re feeling doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong road.
It’s just that the path to get to where you want to go is a bumpy ride!

🧠 ANALOGY

Visual metaphor by milaniCREATIVE.art showing how the same thought, “I made a mistake” can lead to two very different mindsets. A white thought bubble labeled “I MADE A MISTAKE” branches into two colored speech bubbles. On the left, a red bubble labeled “I’M A FAILURE” is marked “fixed mindset.” On the right, a green bubble repeats the phrase “I MADE A MISTAKE,” this time marked “growth mindset.” The visual highlights how interpretation, not the event itself, shapes personal identity and growth.

Friendly reminder

Making a mistake is just making a mistake.
It doesn't define your identity or character.

🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW

Sarah Manguso’s Questions Without Answers began as a social‑media experiment. In 2021 she opened a Twitter account and asked followers to share the best question a child had ever asked them. Hundreds of questions, funny and profound starting pouring in. This book takes the best ones and couples them with quirky and fun illustrations from Liana Finck.

A few of my favorites:

A question that reads “When the baby is born, how do parents know its name?” with a drawing under it representing it.
A question that reads “Do caterpillars know they’re going to be butterflies, or do they build the cocoon not knowing what will happen?” with a drawing under it representing it.
A question that reads “Are bubbles in drinks their thoughts?” with a drawing under it representing it.

A couple other favorites to ponder:

  • What is more important, love or hope?

  • Where does the dark go when the light comes on?

Do you have a favorite question a child has asked you?

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