This post may be more of a reminder and a blog to me than to anybody else. However, I'm sure it will be helpful to you also if you are currently working on a project or two.
The feeling of succeeding at a task is very rewarding. It is often that the VERY important tasks have little to help you visualise that success. For example, it is almost beyond our field of view to experience the long term benefits of building a stronger relationship with a close friend or a spouse. Alternatively, from a teaching perspective it is rare joy (even for those teachers who have been educating for many years) to see a struggling student showing REAL value for important things.
Some simple but effective advice I was once given divulges the idea of goal structuring. Rather than creating one ominous mountain of an end point, one should instead break that goal into many PRACTICAL parts each of which are achievable and visible in themselves. Mastering photography can appear an insurmountable goal at times. Do not lose the vision. I have three helpful hints (all of which are useful to remember in many situations) that I have found to be effective in dismantling such a goal:
1. DEFINE your goals. Do your best to describe exactly what it is about your photography you would like to achieve. Be as specific as possible. Ask yourself (and answer) a million questions about where you want your photography to be in 10 years. Do you want to have X number family photo albums every year? do you want to have taken X number of GOOD portrait shots (you'll know which ones fit that category)? Do you want a full-time job in the industry? What photography field do you want to exploit?
What is the NEXT step you need to take in order to get there?
What is the one after THAT?
Remember, to begin with at least, keep targets TANGIBLE.
2. GET active. Use practical, affordable, and viable methods to further motivate your photography. Enter competitions, volunteer your skills, join a photography club, apply for paid photographic work, share your work with others. Here are a few links for some clubs and competitions:
Competitions
Clubs
3. PERSEVERE. The capacity for a person to achieve success does not lie in their natural and developed skills, but rather in their ability to push themselves beyond their comfort zone in order to achieve their goal. Practically speaking, once you reach one of your mini targets, take it further than you had initially planned. Instead of doing your scheduled weekly photo-shoot, throw in an extra shoot on a whim (even if you don't feel like it) or shoot for 20 minutes longer than planned. Idea: take 10 photos in situations where you feel UNcomfortable in doing so.
All the best!!
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