There's safety in doing nothing
They say all human behavior is purposive.
Even what you say to yourself is a bad habit meets a need. It may be a non-conscious one, but some result is sought, even if it's destructive but comfortingly familiar.
Are you shooting as much as you want to be?
Are you reaching out to your market to get more paying customers?
If you're trying to become a more successful professional photographer, but you're not doing the things that lead to that result, the question is an obvious...why not?
There's a sense of safety in doing nothing...can't take a bad photo if you take no photos. Can't get a bad client if you have no clients. Can't have to give someone a refund if nobody pays you.
The brain is really good at survival, but it hasn't evolved as fast as the world has.
We fear failure and rejection like we fear being eaten by a tiger. Same fight or flight response. Same adrenaline rush and sweaty palms. Same overthinking worst-case scenarios until we're paralyzed, or just slip away into distraction so we don't have to confront our (purposive!) limiting thoughts and actions.
My encouragement today is to bring your non-conscious motivations to light, and make them answer to you for how they are stopping you from achieving your professional photography dreams.
"Why don't I do the things I know I need to do to get what I truly want?"
If you'd like to turn this exercise into a conversation, just e-mail me and tell me what's going on - what you feel is holding you back. Or if you don't even know what's holding you back, or why you're not doing the things you want to do. It's okay...it's normal. :) And a good conversation can help get you unstuck.
James Michael
www.parttimephoto.com
