new year. new goals. new me.

How did New Year Resolutions get such a bad rep? Isn’t it a time for us to start over with fresh intentions? Forget the past and move on? Out with the old, in with the new? 

I personally look at it as striving for a change and creating new habits. I like examining my past year’s behaviors (and misbehaviors) and making a list of things I’d like to fix and setting goals – ooooooh, I loooooove goals. Setting goals increases productivity and the success rate by 80%! I’m pretty sure I just made that up, but I know goal setting is important – as long as it’s realistic and specific.

Like most women, one of my New Year Resolutions (known as NYR now, because it’s a pain to type) is to lose weight. Wooomp woomp womp.

A key to setting goals is to be as specific, whether it’s a setting a ideal weight or size, or saying many days you’re dedicating working out in the gym a week. The other key is making sure it’s realistic and attainable. Sure, I’d LOVE to lose 30 pounds before my birthday in February, but seriously. Even though my goal is specific – I stated the amount I’d like to lose and gave me a deadline, but I’m not exactly on the Biggest Loser Ranch where I can work out for hours a day and eat perfectly clean, so I’m pretty sure that my body can’t lose the required 6 pounds per week to meet my goal. I’d basically be setting myself up for disappointment, which yeah, could put a bad taste in my mouth regarding the whole NYR planning thing.

Last year, my boyfriend and I set a goal that we’d lose 20 lbs. by the time we leave for our normal Fourth of July trip to the beach. I wasn’t in the gym every day like I was hoping I’d be, and I occasionally enjoyed an item from the McDonalds menu here and there, but I framed my mind into thinking these were just speed bumps, not reasons to give up hope and quit. As the pounds came off, my confidence went up, and it transformed itself from a NYR to just a normal habit. Going on a run was as automatic as brushing my teeth. When I hit the 20 lbs. mark in June, I wanted to keep going. Since I met my goal, I set a new one, I wanted to start wearing a size 8. I ended up losing 38 lbs. and wearing a size 10 by mid August. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan for any other setbacks and transition myself into “maintenance mode”. I gained some back, and yeah I’m disappointed, but now I know what I need to do for 2011. I have a fresh start and a new mindset and don’t consider myself a failure because I hit a road block. The typical person only sticks to the NYR until mid February. If it happens to you, shrug it off and start again in a couple months and be satisfied that the first 1.5 months of attempted change with pure intentions is better than no attempt at all.

So alas, here are my personal NYR for 2011 (and hopefully the rest of my life):

1. Déjà vu – I’m going to lose 20 lbs. by July because I know I can do it. And then I’m going to get into those freakin size 8 jeans by the end of 2011, all the while burning all of my fat jeans that I keep coming back to.

2. New motto: Quality, not Quantity – I used to measure my worth based on how many people I surrounded myself with – yeah, I thought I was a big deal because I had over 1,300 friends on Facebook. Now I’ve realized it doesn’t matter how many friendships you have, but the actual connection and effort your are giving to and receiving from this person.

3. Project 365 – I’m going to take one picture a day for the next year. Armed with my backup Canon DSLR that I’m going to attempt to start carrying with me everywhere and my iPhone 4 which is basically an appendage, I should have no problem doing this.

4. Frugalness – I need to be smarter with my money and live as if plastic wasn’t invented. Save, Save, Save!

5. Stop the Profanity – I cuss like a sailor. Hell, my thoughts are usually profanity.

6. Read the Bible – I received my very own Bible from my parents for Christmas this year and I tend to read it!

7. Anger Control – ie, road rage, attitude, confrontation, rudeness, yelling, etc. Be gone with it you all!


I have some photography-related NYR as well:

8. Blog once every two weeks.

9. I’m getting busier, but I still have some down time between shoots. Even if it’s shooting Toby or nature, I just need to practice more.

10. Take at least one photography related class a month – I have a mentoring session in NC coming up in January, a Photoshop class in February, and a workshop in Atlanta in March – the only way I’m going to get better is to keep being a student and learn.

11. I finally got to the point where I’m happy and confident with my lens inventory, but I’m still just using the 3 I’m most comfortable with. I need to get out of my comfort zone and use the others!

12. Be more organized with contracts and paperwork.

13. Book at least 1-2 weddings each month starting in April.  

14. Here’s an article about NYR for photographers: http://www.macworld.com/article/156640/2010/12/photoresolutions.html. I do most of these, but I need to do the others!

 

So, what are your New Year Resolutions?

I wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy and goal-oriented New Year! :)

stay calm & snap on.

I've heard and read over and over again that a photographer should shoot everyday in order to get better at their craft and learn more about themselves. As a part-time photographer, I can't do that... that's why I'm part-time. I have a full-time job in the corporate world, a social life, and a Tobyshark among other things, so it's impossible to put away some time during the day to shoot for me... or so I thought...

This is a Tobyshark.

I ran across this website called Big Picture Classes while following a fun, feminine photography blog, The Shutter Sisters. They were offering a 31 day, online class called Picture the Holidays. For $30, I would receive 1 email every day in December challenging me to stop in the midst of my hectic life, reflect on the holiday season, and capture the provided theme through the lens of my camera all the while giving me helpful tips for photography in general. I didn't jump on it right away. I kept coming up with reasons why I thought I shouldn't or couldn't take this class: shooting every day, $30 to reflect on the holidays - am I actually going to learn something or get something out of it? As I weighed the pros and cons carefully, I reflected back on the pictures I took in the Sonoma Valley, Alcatraz Island, and San Francisco, and how much fun I had taking them. There was no pressure to impress a client or to get shots that would build my portfolio - these were for me to remember this vacation. After I returned from my trip with great images, I felt renewed. The rut I was in had faded and I was ready to get back to work. Shooting for fun should be a constant in my life since it's the reason I decided to make this a potential career anyways.

So. I signed up for the class.  I can make the time. It'll take some effort on my part - making myself get up a littler earlier in the morning so I have time to sit down at my computer and reflect on the daily assignment then shoot before I go to work, and make sure I set sometime aside when I get home to choose my image for editing and upload it to the community gallery they have set up for us. It's only the 2nd day, and I'm enjoying it. I like the fact that it makes you think beyond the surface of the literal. The December 1st assignment talked about holding on to gratitude for the holiday season and prompted us to shoot something that we are grateful for. Not only did I shoot one concept that I was grateful for, it made me think of all the other things I was grateful for too. Gah, there were so many! Powerful tool, this project :) I'll be sharing my daily photos in a Facebook album.

There's still time to sign up - they are taking new students until December 10th. If you can't participate this time, they have other classes like Picture Winter  and other seasons as well that will offered later. If you don't want to dish out the money or shoot everyday, this chick does a similar thing on her blog called You Capture. She suggests a feeling or abstract concept once a week, and asks her readers to go shoot it. And I must add, this isn't just for professional photographers. It's for anyone who wants to slow life down a tad and reflect. You can use a fancy smancy DSLR, or your point-and-shoot - hell, she even says she welcomes cell phone pictures.

On a totally unrelated - but kinda related - note, I bought this poster tonight:
  

I plan on hanging it up in my office where I do all my post-processing and blogging. As life continues to get busier and my personal and photography schedule fills up, I hope this will serve as a constant reminder to me keep my photography venture fun and to reflect on why I began this in the first place. Day 2 of my photography project, and I'm already looking forward to more self-reflection.

Hi, 2011 - you're already looking bright from here.