Why is it that I can be so encouraging and easy on colleagues and friends, but intensely hard on myself. I give others permission to rest, make mistakes, and fail, but struggle with my own feelings of needing to work all the time.
Last week I decided that needed to change.
I decided to stop waiting for someone to tell me what I needed to do and gave myself permission for the following:
- Take a break from blogging after 365 straight days of blogging about my photographic journey.
- Postpone the start of my tasra52 post processing challenge and tasra365 writing challenge until October.
- Stay up late watching movies.
- Sleep in.
- Drink Starbucks coffee (it’d been almost 3 months since my last cup of joe).
- Not clean the house.
I’m sure there are a few more, but you get the idea. I’m excited about my next two challenges, but I also realized that I needed to slow down and savor the accomplishment of the past year. The new challenge will start soon enough, but in the meantime, taking the pressure off myself to just keep going full speed ahead has really done wonders for my creativity.
Of course, along with the permission for the above is the reality that this has been our busiest month for shooting senior portraits. Four full model sessions in the last 7 days… that means 3 hours of heat, humidity, studio and on location shoots, and creative output. It really was just time to focus on those shoots and give myself permission to do whatever it takes to stay creatively fresh.
The good news is that it’s working. I’m excited about the work I’ve been creating, I see the difference in each senior girl I’ve photographed and the locations and styles we’ve chosen. And I’ve got another session scheduled for Wednesday… spent an hour with mom and daughter today planning outfits. Cannot wait!
Bottom line… no one can give you permission to do the things you know you need to do. So stop waiting for it. Just get real and be kind to yourself.
What’s one thing you need to give yourself permission to do this week?
