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What are Mimetic Mondays?

Posted On January 4, 2021 | 0 comments

Mimetic Mondays are short, three bullet-point messages from me every Monday containing three things that might help you end your Monday—and start the rest of your week—with a greater desire to do important work, build meaningful relationships, and level-up where needed. It includes the art, people, and news that inspire imitation—for better or for worse.

Each email is three short bullets:

• ⬆️ ART. Books, blogs, and bylines; podcasts, films and concerts. I highlight art that has the potential to move the needle of desire, positive and negative. In every Mimetic Monday email, I use emoji’s before the bullet to indicate whether the effect on desire is positive, negative, or something to be careful about. (You might also see a stop sign—🛑—indicating that some anti-mimetic energy is needed if you engage with this thing.)
• ⬆️ PEOPLE. Who has inspired me or others in building a better world—models of desire that might be worth imitating in some way. Sometimes, I highlight things that I believe are dangerous models (and indicate it, accordingly).
• 🛑 NEWS. Current events and news in the coming week with some tie-in to mimetic desire. Sometimes, I share things that are challenging me or tripping me up. I share these in a spirit of transparency, in the hope that we might make deeper connections and find the pearl of wisdom that lies beneath the rough surface.

If there is a P.S. to the letter, it usually includes something I’ve been up (like traveling or cooking) or a quote I’ve been pondering.

Comments are always open for subscribers on the website, where the full archive of Mimetic Mondays are available. Check your favorite social media for #mimeticmonday for news and comments.

I always keep Mimetic Monday notes short and sweet—2-minute reads or less. If you’d like to explore any of the topics I introduce here in more detail, I write a long(er)-form Substack newsletter, Anti-Mimetic: A Field Guide to Mimetic Desire, with new editions available once every 2-3 weeks. Some of the topics there include Deep Bookshelves, The Anti-Calculator approach to living, and Desire Paths & Design.

Thank you, as always, for reading.