This photo is the 366th I’ve posted this year. I am happy to say that as a result, I have upheld my 2012 New Year’s Resolution to post a photo every single day. Through both the good and bad times in my life, the one constant and drive that always remained regardless of everything else was the one to post a new photo each day. Doing this taught me a few things that I’d like to share.
- Committing to something and succeeding feels really good.
- Habits form quickly with a strong commitment. This makes staying committed easier and easier.
- The inconvenience of being required to do something every day just for the sake of doing it can sap the enjoyment and creativity out of things. It’s important to commit with passion and clear objectives that are in line with one’s values so that the habit doesn’t overwhelm or devalue the commitment.
- There is always time and when there isn’t, it’s usually possible to make time.
- A fast internet connection is priceless.
- A slow internet connection can be really expensive and test your patience to its core.
- Some people rally behind you to support your commitment, and others don’t understand it. Thank those that support you, and don’t let the ones that don’t phase you. The drive eventually comes from you and you alone. And that’s exactly where it should come from.
- Commitments sometimes need to be reevaluated, but seeing them through to the agreed upon terms gives you confidence in your ability to be successful with the next commitment.
- Exploring old photos every day serves as a good reminder of not only where you’ve been and what you’ve done, but also how you felt at the time.
- The definition of a good and bad photo changes based on urgency, mood, and experience.
- Photos of people are interesting in a distinctly different way than those of inanimate objects.
- Lightroom is your best friend and your enemy.
- It is difficult to have the desire to take new photos and interact with the photographic community when consumed by finding a photo to post every day, and that’s a really bad thing.
You can probably tell that I have mixed feelings about the commitment I made a year ago. While it does feel great to have made and met that commitment, what I’ve learned has clearly shown me that it needs to be rethought. Because of this, I will no longer be posting a photo every day. I will likely sob uncontrollably tomorrow for missing the 367th day, but I’ll have more energy to think about my next commitment. I don’t know what that commitment will be yet, but I do know that when I make it it will need to address some of the negative points mentioned above. There’s nothing that says commitments have to align with the boundaries of the calendar year so this time around I’m in no rush. I’m going to enjoy the first few weeks of 2013 letting the dust settle until my head clears and I can determine where I want to go next.
My New Year’s Wish to all of you is that you take the time to determine the commitments that matter to you most, make them with clear goals in mind, and resolve to see them through with passion.
Happy New Year!
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