Attitude is everything

I just saw something really powerful. A photographer giving a lecture on fear. You can watch it too if you want here. It's long though.

She talked about how fear (as commonly used by everyone, but specifically photographers) doesn't really exist. There should be no fear about moving on to a new level, or speaking in front of somebody, or taking people's pictures. She said there are no snakes blocking your way to do it, or bombs going to go off if you don't do it right. There's no fight or flight reasons. So that fear is just self-hate and self-doubt and you can tell that to shut up.

She talked about how you attract what you put out.  Most people's lives are balanced, the same amount of good you get is how much bad you get. If you get very good, then you'll probably have very deep lows too. But it all comes down to your attitude, if you rehash and dwell on the negative, that's what you'll feel like is happening to you more. ("Bad stuff always happens to me") Or people who are "lucky" and always land on their feet, tend to just blow off the bad stuff and remember the good.

I already feel like I'm pretty good at that. I'm very blessed and happy, and bad things happen but I can't remember anything right now to tell you so that must be a good sign.

That really really rings true to me, I know it. And I get really mad when people purposely are making themselves miserable by re-energizing the bad stuff by never letting it go.  She said the most traumatic thing in your life should make you grateful (an earthquake should remind you to be grateful you have your family, even though your house is gone). Then instead of Poor Me-ing, you'll be Thank God-ing.  But I know that if you are a downer person, then reading this or even watching the video won't change that, you'll be thinking of excuses why your story is different, and that the universe really is out to get you. I can't change your tune, but watch the video anyway, maybe she can.

What hit me kinda hard and made me pause it (about 40 minutes in). She said "I don't care if you like my work". And I know it wasn't really the point of her speech. But just that really hit me. I take a lot of pictures, and they're not all great. But some of them I really like. And I really want other people to like them too. But how great would it be if I just took pictures I like and I think are good. I don't usually try and impress people or care what they think about my clothes or life. What if I just took pictures to please myself?

They don't need to win competitions or anything. People can now see what kind of pictures I take and I think are good. If they don't agree, they won't ask me to take pictures for them. And if that happens, I'll be able to take a hint!! But if I like them and am excited by them, that should bounce out into the universe and make other people excited too. And even if not, I'll forget that part, and just remember that I liked them.