Thursday, June 21, 2012

Long time, No right

I have two strong philosophies in my life:
What's the point in doing something if you don't REALLY do it.
Failure can only be achieved if you stop trying.



Probably comes from my hilarious and seriously extreme father or maybe even my matter of fact OCD mother but whatever the cause I don't like to do things part way.  I like to throw myself out there.  No one gets it right the first time and if they do it's a fluke.  Everyone like to quote Albert Einstien or Thomas Edison with their famous success only brought on by continued efforts after defeat after defeat.  I say look at your own life: I don't care who you are there is something in your life that you tried once and it didn't go well and you kept trying and you may not have had a roaring success but at least an improvement.



Take for instance brussel sprouts.  For as long as I can remember I have hated brussel sprouts.  They are like mini cabbages and taste worse.  It had been 12 years since I last tried a brussel sprout and I have this thing that if I haven't tried it in 3 years and someone offers it to me I will try it again.  Just a bit ago brussel sprouts popped up at my in-law's dinner table.  I watched in horror as the veggie bowl was passed around.  My noise crinkling up in disgust as I thought over the slimy texture and the horrid stench of my childhood rememberings.  All the same I followed my rule and I put what my family calls a "No thank you" helping, my parents rule was we had to eat everything that was offered but that was the get out jail free card: they didn't care how much we had.  After 12 years of postponing this moment, of dreaded memories... they weren't that bad.  Don't get me wrong , they are still not my favorite but I could eat them with little to no issue... more than I can say for fried okra!

Point:

Though a silly example you get my drift.  I look for encouragement not from others.  My point is that I will take joy in my little success.  There is more than one right way to do life.  There is more than one right way to do photography.

I have been discouraged.  I lacked wind in my sails.  I put myself out there and got only criticism.

Now don't get me wrong: I litterally love constructive/instructive criticism it is a great way to learn and a great way to know exactly what you need to work on.  But if someone tells you "your haircut sucks"... not super helpful.

Application:

If someone offers you criticism without direction: water on a ducks back!  "Bitches be crazy" to quote a less then awesome The Heartbreak Kid.

"If you only do what you know you can do - you never do much."
- Tom Krause


5 comments:

  1. I agree with your sentiments completely. One of my favorite quotes is "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Eduction alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." --- Calvin Coolidge 1872

    I totally agree that there's no point in doing something unless you're going to really do it and that means trying new aspects and learning new things regardless of what hateful things anyone would/could say. Very poignant post. Keep on doing what you're doing and like you said, criticism without direction, let it roll right off ya!!

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    1. I believe we could be good friends... just saying :P

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  2. Muy cierto lo que decís, hermosas palabras! Comparto tu punto de vista.Un abrazo desde Argentina!!

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  3. I needed to read that post today. I can’t go into the details, but let’s just say I was recently sucker punched in regards to my photography and am still seething about it a bit. Your post helped take some of the sting out…and reminded me to not give up. I’ll find something “constructive” in their unique “criticism”, learn from it, and keep moving forward.

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    1. I'm so sorry Kris. Honestly there are a lot of insecure people out there. Some critisim is meant to be helpful and other is thrown out almost defensively. Like I said before, when I first came into photography there was a lot of negativity towards "nonprofessionals" and to be honest trying to be a part of local photography groups is difficult for me because of the large amount of terse words people share about "nonprofessional photographers" for me we were all there... scratch. Why tear down? It's just too easy. Let's try the harder option, just saying. All that said: all of us (anyone who is alive no matter their field) needs to improve and anyone who thinks they have arrived is kidding themselves but all the same, share in love. I'm sorry I didn't respond to this till now Kris, I have been derelict in my "Blogging duties".

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