Last Friday, we welcomed in fall. It’s officially here! But there on my hard drive, sat my summer project just begging to be finished. I decided I can’t put it off any longer, so I made time over the weekend to finish it up. Full disclosure, I took a photo every day for 98 days. Yep, that’s right, I made it 98 days. Two days short of finishing my goal…seriously…how pathetic is that. I see a lot of absolutely amazing project 365s being completed by fellow photogs, and I envy their dedication. I don’t think I have it in me to stick to a project every day for an entire year. As I scroll through social media, admiring another people’s work, I find myself falling into the dangerous trap of comparison. It’s easier than ever these days to compare not only your professional work, but every aspect of your life to other’s. Instead of stepping back and seeing the good, it’s all too easy to compare our perceived downfalls to other’s happy highlights.
It’s bad enough when we sit and wallow in our own self pity over the feeling we failed compared to those around us, but it’s far worse to take it a step further and tear others down because they have found success. Unfortunately, I have seen a lot of this lately. I hear women judging other women by their appearance instead of their character. I see parents badmouthing other parents and their children instead of looking into the situation and realizing that the family is struggling and in need of help. I have witnessed photographers discrediting the talent of other successful photographers because they are feeling frustrated. Negative attitudes, opinions, and slander will never bring success. Jealousy only feeds insecurity and keeps us further away from accomplishing our own goals. Calling someone ugly will never make you pretty, and insulting someone’s work will never get you more clients. These are facts.
I am guilty of comparing myself to other and feeling jealousy. It’s a common human emotion that we have all felt at one time or another. It’s how we deal with it that makes us who we are. It is much easier to give in to envy than it is to rise above. It takes strength to take the high road and support those around you. It’s building up this strength that creates strong leaders, success, and happiness. If we are dissatisfied with our personal or professional lives, it is up to us to look inside ourselves and find ways to better our situation. A strained marriage will not improve by talking sh*t about the couple down and street, 10 lbs won’t melt away by making fun of the CrossFit crowd, and you won’t make six-figures trying to convince your potential clients that everything else available to them is crap.
Human beings are attracted to confidence and strength. Put in the work to better yourself, set goals, and don’t let set backs stop you. You do you. Stop worrying about what other are accomplishing. When you look around your community, find inspiration instead of envy. All successful people have once failed and had to pick themselves back up. I’m also willing to bet that a lot of those successful people have helped pick up others along the way.
Of course I felt disappointed in myself for dropping the ball just two days short of finishing my project, but then I looked back though my images. I realized that what I gained from this experience was much greater than the failure of not reaching my initial goal. I challenged myself to shoot in all kinds of different lighting conditions, I pushed my creativity on days when I didn’t think I had any in me, and I will soon have a photo album to hold in my hands that will allow me to relive the summer of ’17 for years to come. This makes my heart so happy!! I didn’t fail. Failing would have been abandoning the project all together. No, I didn’t fail, I just finished in a different way than I had planned.
