Are you okay?
This is what my coworker asked me last week as I glared intensely at my computer screen, tight in the shoulder and hunched in the back.
I bet as you’re reading this e-mail, if you check in with yourself real quick, you’ll realize where the tension is settling in your body. Shoulders, back, gut, arms, hands…deeper, head and heart, right?
My pastor on Sunday likened that tension, worry, anxiety, to sitting in a rocking chair.
Back and forth… “Oh Lord, here we go, I bet this is going to turn out badly…”
Back and forth… “This client is going to hate my photos, I know it…”
Back and forth… “I shouldn’t ask that person to shoot with me, they’ll think I’m crazy or a weirdo…”
Back and forth… “Gosh I can’t believe how imperfect my art / pricing / web site / business cards / personality / sense of humor / awkwardness is…”
Stop.
Take a breath.
Shake out that tension.
Get up out of the rocking chair.
And…have some fun.
Did you forget that you own your business?
Did you forget that you are in charge?
Did you forget that you can do more of what you enjoy and less of what sucks?
Did you forget that you’re on this journey because you WANT to be?
I forget – trust, I forget all the dang time. That’s when I find myself in the rocking chair, back and forth, tensed up like a dog who just ate a pair of momma’s nicest shoes. That’s when my coworkers or friends ask me, “Dude, are you okay?”
Are you having fun with this journey?
How can you have more fun as a professional photographer?
Not sure? E-mail me and let me know what you’re dealing with. I’m always here to help.
James Michael Taylor
www.parttimephoto.com
P.S. My Freemium Photography book is now available for only $5. In it, I get out of the way, and give you the best business model (from how to make better art, to how to get booked solid, to how to launch) I’ve seen and tested and refined after 18 years of professional photography. It’s simple, practical, and works. Hallelujah, right? 🙂