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writing

Why Journaling Matters for Creatives (After 25 Years of Doing It)

For over twenty-five years now, I’ve kept some form of journal. There were periods where I wrote every day, and periods where months passed between entries. Certain journals are full of ideas for books and lectures; others read more like field reports from difficult years of my life. Somehow, through every change in identity, work,…

Observations

Embracing Uncertainty in Creativity

We underestimate how much creativity depends on tolerating not-knowing. One of the more radical ideas in creativity research comes from the psychoanalytic tradition, particularly from Wilfred Bion’s notion of “negative capability” (itself borrowed from John Keats). The capacity, as Keats originally put it, to remain with uncertainty without ‘irritable reaching after fact and reason.’ In…

Observations

Overcoming Perfectionism

Perfectionism I’m increasingly convinced, is not at all about maintaining high standards. Writers like Brené Brown have been helpful for me in naming this dynamic: perfectionism as a defence against vulnerability rather than a pursuit of excellence. Similarly, Donald Winnicott’s idea of the “good enough” offers a quiet corrective. Not a lowering of standards, but a recalibration—an insistence…

intention

What About the Projects We Keep Putting Off?

There is something uncomfortably revealing about the creative projects we keep putting off “for later.” The ones we abandon outright are easier to narrate, to explain away, to file under “not quite right” or “no longer aligned.” But the projects we hold on to with a kind of reverence but never actually commit to have…

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About Me

Hi, I’m Allan. I’m a professor, coach, and meditation teacher interested in how we can live and think more creatively in a complex world. My work bridges mindful living with the craft of scholarship, bringing together literature, philosophy, and contemplative practice.

Alongside my academic writing, I share reflections here on the art of academic practice, slow living in a fast city, and the small rituals that make daily life meaningful. This blog serves as a library and archive for my wider projects across Substack, YouTube, and beyond.

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