During the holidays Camille and I were thinking about what the coming new year holds for our studio, as well as for us as individuals. We’re all guilty (myself included) of breaking some of our New Year’s resolutions. Each year we see articles showing the percentages of people who broke their resolutions within a week, a month, so on and so forth… so I asked, what can I change or need to improve for this coming up year?
I thought until the hamster was tired on the wheel about what resolutions will pave the way to a better 2014: lose weight, stop smoking (Camille), watch less TV (yeah, right!), and then it dawned on me… Nothing.
Resolutions are made with the best of intentions, but why are they made in the first place? Most people will make them, break them, and it’s the spirit or morale that really gets broken. I may know only a handful of people – at best – that keep up what they started with as resolutions throughout the year. This is led me to start asking, why do we have to reflect only towards the end of the year and then set goals only once?
As individuals, we should always push ourselves to be better day by day. Every waking moment is a perfect time to reflect and start a “resolution.” This is how we grow and do better. I realized a long time ago that if I’m not pushing myself to be better tomorrow than I am today, then I am not moving forward with my life. I have seen people who subconsciously set their own “glass ceilings” – they set low goals and either fine blame elsewhere or sweep them under the rug and go about life when those goals go unachieved. Maybe that approach is just impossible for a professional photographer; each and every shoot has to be better than the one before. Even the same image is made better the second time it’s worked on than the first… it may be progress, not perfection, but it is a perpetual pursuit. The same applies to resolutions! Why beat yourself up over a bad shot and chalk it up as a failure? Change the lighting and try again… change your angle and try again… adjust your focus and try again… try until your batteries are dead and you’ll find a long trail of unfolding success!
So, the point of this blog was, do you challenge yourself? How? Why? What is your goal? Why do it at all? Some questions to keep in your thoughts before ushering in the New Year… because if they’re important enough to you to make your “New Year’s resolutions,” they’re important enough for you to stay dedicated to all year long, no matter how many times you miss the shot.
Both I and Camille wish the best to you, your dreams and your loved ones in 2014!
One of my favorite comics about change that I saw on my news feed and wanted to share 🙂
Or perhaps said another way, can’t teach old dogs new tricks? Best to your house from ours, Michael. Hope to talk to you soon.