Progress Not Perfection

"Progress, not perfection, is what we should be asking of ourselves." - Julia Cameron

Perfectionism has been something I've struggled with since I can remember. It's certainly not a GOOD thing. It doesn't lead me to higher standards, or better results. It holds me back from moving forward.

Why did it take me so long to figure out my camera and improve my photography skills?? Because I wasn't perfect, wasn't improving fast enough so I quit. Perfection also leads to comparison syndrome. This nasty and contagious ailment causes you to constantly look at what OTHER people produce and think "oh they are so much better than me, I have no idea what I'm doing". Or just when you think "wow my photo is amazing, I'm really proud of it!"… you get on Instagram and find 136 photos that are by far better.

Well here is what I say to perfectionism and it's bratty little brother comparison. You are no longer welcome here, assholes.

The problem when we are striving to be perfect is that we will never actually get there. It's not attainable, it's a way of protecting ourselves from failure. We are so afraid to fail that we think "I won't do that until I know it will be perfect". Well I'll let you in on a little secret (that deep down you already know) - nothing will ever be perfect. Ever. And we don't want it to be!

The first step toward overcoming perfectionism is to jump in and start making mistakes. Yep that's right. Ugly, I had no idea what I was doing mistakes. Luckily in the area we are talking about - photography - mistakes are pretty freaking cheap.

Digital space, i.e. memory cards, have gotten so affordable. You can get SO much space for so little, and then guess what? You have a lot of room for mistakes. And that is exactly how we learn.

This is one of Neal’s favorites of my photos. I didn’t love it, because I didn’t think it was technically perfect. But now it’s hanging on our wall. Do I love it now? I sure do.

I have let perfection hold me back throughout my life - often not knowing it was happening. Why is failure so fear inducing? I mean we learn by failing. We try, we fail, we learn…we try again. But that isn't how I rolled. Nope. I avoided anything that I might fail at. So that held me back from learning. And experiencing new things.

Right now I'm reading Marie Forleo's Everything is Figureoutable. She talks a lot about her journey. How she would try and fail - dust herself off, get back up again and try again. She is a hard core New Jersey, in your face kind of lady. Not the personality that everyone connects to, but I love her. Don't get me wrong, I also on occasion love me some touchy feely woo woo kind of energy. But Marie's quit whining, get off your butt and do something about it, is pretty refreshing, and sometimes exactly what I need.

I am in awe of her ability to just jump in and try things she is completely unprepared for, that are WAY over her head, and just fall flat on her ass. And then say "oh well, I learned a lot there, on to the next big thing." WHAT?? I have avoided stuff my whole life that I was afraid of - and THAT was an option?? I think you see why I love her now.

So here I am giving you a little tough love (inspired by Marie so think of this with a lot of f-bombs and a New Jersey accent thrown in). Get off your butt, get your camera and start practicing all of these things we talk about.

We aren't going to make excuses or say "I don't know how that works" any more. Here's what I want you to do. Read one of my blog posts, or watch one of the videos in our private Facebook group. Get out your camera, and whatever I talked about in the post or video, try it. Knowing that 90% of your results might not be what you are trying for. They probably won't be. Maybe even 99% won't be. That's OK. Just try it. Make a LOT of mistakes, and try again.

Now every single week, commit to trying some more. I will be doing a Facebook live every week. So that is a good place to start. Whatever we talk about in that video (you can catch it anytime, if you aren't there for the live version), give it a whirl. 

This is one of those ‘the lighting is terrible in this room, what is the point…but oh heck I’ll give it a try and see what happens’ shots. Et voila! I LOVE the way this one turned out! Just a little experimenting and not worrying about the results.

I didn't really improve my photography skills until I practiced like a mad woman. Everywhere I went I took my camera and snapped away. Now granted, at some point I did quit my job and move to France for a whole year. Now THAT was some good practice! I'm not asking that from you (or am I??). But everybody. YES everybody. Even you who are thinking "I'm SO busy I don't have time for anything extra". Even you do.

It's all about priority. Are you with me? I'm REALLY getting all tough love on you now. If you truly want to get better at taking photos for your travel - or of your kids, or your dogs…then you can. And you will. BUT you have to commit, make some time - carve out a few minutes from those Netflix binges…just sayin. And practice.

And if now you are saying "I don't even know where to start!" I got you there. Start with these blog posts and this resource, the Travel Photo Quick Start Guide.

See I'm taking away ALL your excuses, so you will have to either A) get better at creating photos, or B) just admit you really don't want to right now. And that's ok too! You don't have to get better, but if you aren't making progress, have a heart-to-heart with yourself and figure out why. Is it because it's just not a priority right now? Or because your perfectionism, fear-of-failure, I-don't-have-time excuses are holding you back.

I'm so channeling Marie Forleo right now and I feel so tough!!

OK back to touchy feely woo woo. I'm here for you. If you have questions, reply to this email and ask me. I understand the struggles, the journey and the desire to be better RIGHT FREAKING NOW. Be patient, grasshopper. You'll get there. 

Perfect? Nah. But I love this one because it’s from the balcony of the first apartment that Neal and I stayed in when we moved to Toulouse. It makes me think of the bathtub/shower that you actually had to sit in to “shower” and the giant skeleton key they handed us when we checked in.