By Default
I set out for a few habits at the start of this year.
I failed.
Not only did I fail, I went back to what I did before. You know, the tried and true—got the t-shirt kinda thing. I’m not one to judge my own self but I will.
Why do we even do this to ourselves? Place super high standards on ourselves. I think it’s because we know our best self in just a layer deep within our…stubborn self. Reaching beyond our own level of comfort is right where our best self resides.
Our level of comfort is no match to the success we think we could reach doing what we have been doing all along.
I heard this quote many times in business, “The best and fastest way to go out of business is by holding on to what emotionally feels good.
If you are exactly where you were last year (that thing you wanted to change) chances are…you’re probably still in that zone. This is the part where one goes to default, it’s automatic. For me, I’m having to learn to get out of my own self to do the things that gets me closer to such habits and goals of the successful version of me.
what I’ve learned about comfort zones
Staying in your comfort zone never results to truly feeling of being comfortable. There’s always the nagging feeling that I could be doing more. The more comfortable I feel today, the more uncomfortable I’ll feel tomorrow.
It’s always a desire. And desires always have a tendency of growth.
There really is no destination, it’s always exploring and exploring. Staying curious.
3 ways on how to get out of default
stay curious
Curiosity isn’t safe, maybe not so much reckless (?) I guess that depends! Surely, if I’m as curious as that cat I keep hearing about, I will end up just like it. Cats have like 9 lives so…theres that. There is already an increase in the fail-success ratio, clear advantage. But if I were to take notes from THAT cat, it showed me with being curious really means. It’s marked by a desire to investigate and learn. Having the mindset to be a life-long learner is what is really going to set you about from the person you are now to the person you set to be in the future. Another thing this cat teaches me is the inquisitive interest it has to it’s subject or new surroundings.
set habits
I made the mistake of creating goals last year. I didn’t keep it because my mind was set on THE goal—the THING. Maybe it was too big. I reached some goals last year but I felt like I sort of crawled my way across the finish line. There’s a better way. And there is, and I found out what I was doing!
I train and mentor many creatives weekly and they always tell me that they want to shoot better photos. Some will even show me example of what they want to shoot like. My reply is that they can get there too but you have to stay consistent in one thing to make you better photographer: keep shooting. If it mean shooting everyday, do it. And that there is a habit. To some it’s simple, and to others that’s hard. If you shoot film, it’s hard and very expensive!
The photos you see on this blog entry came from a medium format film camera I got from my dad right before he passed away late April 2018. He loaned it to me earlier in the year and I vowed to myself to shoot more film so he could show me his process on developing. It’s an art form I was always interested in and growing up I always saw him transforming our bathroom into a darkroom. Needless to saw, 12 exposures took serval months, and I finally got it developed from a local place. The roll before that, about 3 of 12 came out decent. This roll, I was pleased with! I got better, still some work to be done, but I know I must be consistent with it. Now reviewing it, I know I really need to give a good clean to the lens and some other parts. Also, I can work on better exposure composition. In short, I need to be shooting more. For now, I share the straight from the negative scan, no edits. In a few weeks I will touch it up and give to clients I did the work for. I will be sure to share on my socials as well.
repeat
It’s simple. Repetition. Work the habit like a muscle till it’s muscle memory. And yes, muscle memory is a thing. Has a lot to do with motor task but I believe the same could work for whatever task you are trying to make part of your successful self.
What habits are you setting for yourself this year?
