Hi, my name is Justin. I’m 40 years old. And I quit my toxic corporate job to build a stationery company that I believe will be bigger than Hallmark.
But here’s why: Because I genuinely believe that joy is the revolution.
In today’s session, you’re going to learn how to use analog creative practices for self-regulation and self-love.
This is not about productivity.
This is not about becoming a perfect self-care girlie or gym shark.
This is about finding small ways back to yourself.
We’ll go over frameworks for reconnecting with yourself and refinding your joy to help combat burnout, sensory overload, and digital overwhelm.
But before we dive in, I want to tell you the story of the cute little menty b that changed the trajectory of my life.
Setting the Scene
2022 was, on paper, the best year of my life.
- I’d quit my job with ample savings
- Just received a book deal with Spruce Books
- Launched SoCurious
And then a routine doctor’s visit changed everything.
“You think I have cancer?”
So I manifested my “dream” job. (jk but it did have 100% paid health insurance)
I was Creative Director at an ad agency that focused on public good initiatives. Lots of travel. Filming real TV commercials. Everything I’d dreamed of.
My focus: Mental health. Sexual Wellness. And Substance Prevention.
But a few months into my position, I had my first panic attack of my life. Not from the stress from the clients. They were actually delightful. But from the toxic culture inside the agency.
But I was in the midst of a health crisis. So I had to stay.
I pushed through because I didn’t have a choice.
Rent’s always due on the first.
THE BREAKING POINT
6 months later. I was sitting in a hotel room in Richmond, Virginia, the night before the biggest shoot of my life. My first time directing.
One minute I’m reviewing the shot list and the next minute I feel a shooting pain in my chest and I feel like I can’t breathe. My heart is racing and I’m shaking uncontrollably with this intense fear and dread.
I pulled it together. The shoot was a success.
But when I got safely back to my house, I knew something had to give.
THE UNMASKING
I knew I had ADHD, but my anxiety had masked it my whole life.
I’d do these heroic impossible tasks and that would lead to the most intense waves of burnout. Weekends spent laying in bed not willing to do much than doomscroll on my phone or binge watch a show.
It kept me moving, kept me grinding, kept me appearing like I had it together. Anxiety made me a high performer.
But after four years in therapy, I got better at managing the anxiety.
And when the anxiety quieted down, the ADHD ramped up.
Plus, this company was incredibly toxic. Like the literal WORSSSSTTTTTTTTTT.
Fortunately, a week later, I got a call from my oncologist. (Good news—I didn’t have cancer!)
THE RESET
So I quit.
No plan. $25K in the bank. A desperate need to reset my life.
I was going through the hardest season of my life.
And to be honest, the only reason I survived is because I made my joy non-negotiable.
REFRAMING JOY
Joy is not childish.
It’s not frivolous.
It’s not something you earn after the work is done.
For me, joy was:
- The emotional anchor in my most turbulent season
- A signal that I could create my own safety
- A way to find my way back to myself
And it helped me create a framework for my rationale on why joy is the revolution.
Joy is:
- A form of self-trust
- A doorway into presence
- A nervous-system rewiring tool
- A small act of resistance against burnout culture
- Evidence that your inner life still belongs to you
Joy is not a reward. It’s a resource.
THE PHILOSOPHY: 10 Reasons Why Joy is the Revolution
- Joy dismantles fear. It makes room for courage.
- Joy creates connection. It’s the glue of community.
- Joy elevates purpose. It reminds us why we keep going.
- Joy rewires the brain. Gratitude and laughter lead to growth.
- Joy shifts your perspective. It turns problems into opportunities.
- Joy invites curiosity. It helps us explore without limits.
- Joy transcends boundaries. It unites across differences.
- Joy amplifies hope. It reminds us that dark clouds have silver linings.
- Joy is free. Anyone can tap into it, anywhere.
- Joy is an act of defiance. It thrives in the face of hardship.
Joy is a tool to make it through the storm.
INTRODUCING THE REAL ME
So allow me to introduce you to the “real” me.
Little Justin loved:
- Writing in his journal
- Making up games
- Dancing to disco music in the car with Aunt Shirley
- Reading for hours
- Doing any kind of art
- Pretending like he was a pop star
And these things felt like the best way to reconnect with my joy.
THE HARD TRUTH
When you shut down creativity, you shut down your brain’s native intelligence. That’s why the burnout is so real.
You’re not just tired—you’re operating in a system that actively suppresses how your brain naturally works.
We live in a system designed to turn us into consumers. The algorithm profits from your passivity.
And with AI, the tech companies are racing to automate the best part of being human: creativity.
WHY CREATIVITY MATTERS FOR NEURODIVERGENT BRAINS
And for neurodivergent brains, creativity is medicine.
Creativity helps you:
- Process the world in a way that makes sense for your unique brain
- Externalize and regulate at the same time
- Access what your brain is naturally built for: lateral thinking, pattern-making, novel connections
But most importantly: Everyone is creative, and everything interesting requires creativity.
BUILD YOUR OWN JOY RESET CURRICULUM
One-size-fits-all doesn’t work.
So today I’m teaching you how to build your own Joy Reset Curriculum.
Here’s how it works:
- A Joy Reset isn’t about the activities—it’s about understanding YOUR nervous system
- From the menu of options, pick the ones that feel the most fun to try
- Be willing to push yourself at least 15% outside your comfort zone
FOUR CATEGORIES OF CREATIVE PRACTICE
1. JOURNALING & WRITING
Options:
- Freewriting (5-min brain dump, no rules)
- Gratitude Journaling (What you’re grateful for + how it makes you feel)
- Journal Prompts (Guided questions when blank page feels too open)
- Book of Lists (Things that calm you, songs that work, textures, colors)
- Unsent Letters (Write to someone without sending it)
- One-Sentence Check-ins (When full journaling feels like too much)
- Habit Tracking (Track workouts, water, mood, whatever matters)
- Letters to Self (Write to another version of you—Future, Past, Alternative)
- Dialogue Journaling (Conversation between you and another part of yourself)
What works for me right now:
- Gratitude Journaling: “I’m grateful for this conference. I feel seen.”
- Dialogue Journaling:
- Lil J! Wanted to check in and see how you feeling, young buck!
- I’m boreeedddddd. I need you to be having at least 75% more fun cause if not I’m throwing a tantrum soon.
2. VISUAL CREATION
Options:
- Collage (Tear, paste, arrange without needing to draw)
- Coloring Sheets (Simple designs, limited color palette)
- Hand Lettering Affirmations (Write the words you need to hear the most)
- Doodling (No pressure to make photorealistic art, just have fun)
- Vision Boards (Paste images of what you want to feel/create)
- Painting or Watercolor (Color mixing, flow, no expectation of “finished”)
- Creating Mandalas (Repetitive pattern-making as meditation)
- Working with Clay (Hand-shaping, moldable, tactile, forgiving)
- Crochet or Knitting (Repetitive, meditative, creates something wearable/giveable)
What works for me right now:
- Hand Lettering Affirmations: “I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY JOY” and “JOY IS A CHOICE YOU MAKE EVERY DAY”
- Collage: Creating mood boards and visual stories in my notebook
3. MOVEMENT & BODY
Options:
- Dance Party (10 minutes in your living room with uplifting music)
- Meandering Walks (You with nature, no sound, just noticing)
- Meditation (5 minutes, guided or silent)
- Stretching/Yoga (Gentle, no performance pressure)
- Hiking (Trails, collecting things, being outside)
- Breathing Exercises (Box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, just breathing)
- Swimming or Water Movement (Weightlessness, sensory regulation)
- Tai Chi or Qigong (Slow, intentional movement)
- Jumping Rope/Bouncing (Allow the energy to move through you)
What works for me right now:
- Long meandering walks: Being outside, no agenda, just noticing
- 10 Minute Dance Parties: Follow me on Instagram @justinmadethat to see the full video of me dancing.
4. PRESENCE & CONNECTION
Options:
- Take Yourself on a Date (Intentional solo time, be a tourist in your own city)
- Send Snail Mail (Cards, letters, brief notes to people you care about)
- A Relaxing Bath (Warm water, sensory reset, time alone)
- Karaoke (Sing badly or beautifully, create a moment, be vulnerable)
- Look Through Old Photos (Connect with past self, nostalgia)
- Watch Childhood Favorites (Movies, shows, books that shaped you)
- Host a Game Night (Create an experience, bring people together)
- Cook a Delicious Meal (Creative nourishment, sensory engagement, share it)
- Dopamine Decor (Design your space, rearrange, make it feel alive)
What works for me right now:
- Snail Mail (duh): Sending intentional cards and notes
- A Relaxing Bath: Warm water, candlelight, sensory reset
BEHAVIORAL SHIFTS
But building your joy reset curriculum goes beyond a random set of tasks—it’s building a new perspective.
Your environment and how you show up in the world directly impact your nervous system.
When you feel amazing, you regulate better.
SHIFT 1: Design a Space That Makes You Feel Alive
- Dopamine Decor: Flowers, candles, colors, organization
- Your space should support your unique individual needs even if it’s unconventional
- Tidy your home as a form of admiration of the things you collected
SHIFT 2: Get Dressed Like You’re the Main Character
- Embody confidence in the way that feels authentic to you
- Forget “appropriate,” and focus on how it makes you FEEL
- When you feel confident, your nervous system knows it
SHIFT 3: Stay Open to Tiny Miracles in the Everyday
- Give yourself permission to say “yes” when you’d normally say “no”
- Listen to your intuition when you feel called to do something out of the ordinary
- Take everything good as a sign from the universe you’re on the right path
SHIFT 4: Follow the Curiosity
- Try low stakes tiny adventures (Be a tourist in your hometown)
- Reframe dreaded tasks as experiments
- Embrace boredom. Schedule no agenda time, see where your mind goes
THE THREE POSSIBLE FUTURES
I went through the three hardest years of my life. Back to back to back.
And I think there were at least three possible futures staring me down:
FUTURE 1: Allow myself to go numb
- Keep suffering in silence
- Let the system win by disappearing into it
FUTURE 2: Commit to the current system completely
- Chase the external validation
- Become everything the machine wanted me to be
FUTURE 3: Reconnect with my joy
- Choose myself
- Choose Lil J
Because choosing joy in a system designed to extract it is not the safe choice.
But I reset my life for Lil J.
And he helped me build a new dream.
PROOF THAT IT WORKS
I got to throw my first solo art show.
I started a stationery company: socurious.co (plz support your local artist)
And I got to create meaningful experiences that reconnect people with their joy.
THE ASK
So I need you to do me a favor.
Pick one tiny experiment for this week and use one of these tactics to change your life.
You do not need to earn your way back to yourself.
You can begin with paper, scissors, breath, color, a sentence, a pause.
CLOSING
My hope is that through this article, I reminded you that focusing on your joy is the most practical thing you can do in uncertain times.
You have five tools:
- Journaling & Writing for regulation
- Visual Creation through collage and coloring
- Daily movement of your body
- Staying present in this moment
- Building your personal joy-reset ritual
But more than that, I hope you’re reminded that your joy is the revolution.
DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCE
Download the PDF Companion to this Post
Social media: Follow me at @justinmadethat. Follow my brand @socurious.co.
Website & more resources: socurious.co/social