UPDATE!! I wanted to share this lates video from Tommy Reynolds on Personal Work and Creating because it’s so relevant to this post! See below:
Last year I wrote about starting a business, and if you didn’t catch that post you can check it out here: 3 Years Ago…I started a business. This year has been crazy, and also really mentally stressful. It has also been emotionally fruitful and filled with growth in every way, and I have a few thoughts as to why.
One of the major things I want to touch on for this post is what I am calling mental fortitude. It has surfaced as one of the most crucial components to success that I can see in our business. What I mean by mental fortitude is the ability to keep moving forward no matter what is happening to you or around you. Sometimes it might mean you are literally dragging yourself out of the house or office to go shoot something (make, sing, write, draw, you name it) anyways. I think it is easy to fall into the trap of looking at everyone around you and it seeming easy. Like they wake up crapping creativity and blowing the next beautiful image into a tissue. IT’S NOT EASY. There is a full stop here, you need to know that the people you see as successful did not wake up one day a get slapped in the face by that success, they earned it. It isn’t the cool photos that make you a success, it’s all the other grimy stuff you do day in and day out that makes you great.
Out of this subject also comes a topic that has been on the pens of many people lately, imposter syndrome. I think the fact that people are actually talking about this is GREAT, and it’s definitely something I deal with all the time. I love the way Wikipedia defines this: “Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud". This can be a paralyzing place to live, I know that first hand, and it makes the idea of pushing yourself to keep going even more important. I want to make sure you know I deal with it almost every time I send an image to a client. In fact, if I don’t hear from the client within an hour or so, I almost automatically assume they hate what I sent and are trying to figure out how to tell me! How do I deal with it? I talk to my wife and friends about it. I let someone who knows me speak wisdom into my life. Then, I KEEP GOING! You can’t let the fear stop you, and that leads me to the next idea: Just a Little More.
Just a Little More. Sounds so simple doesn’t it? It’s something that I think most athletes understand more than most people, and I have the advantage of having been an athlete. In any sport you have to learn to push yourself past the point of discomfort again and again and again, until you can go farther than you ever have, maybe than you ever thought possible. Another example is when my wife went into labor with our kiddos and I coached her through it. It was never about telling her that she would have a baby soon, it was about getting through the contraction that was happening RIGHT NOW and convincing her that she could handle another one. This is most certainly a testimony to her mental fortitude (NOT MINE!), but I think it’s a great example, especially since her second labor lasted 36 hrs and was incredibly painful (and was a natural birth!). Sorry, I have to brag on my wife from time to time :) Where was I? Oh yes, a little more. So here’s the idea in a nutshell: Stay focused on completing the task at hand and then going a little bit further (One more shoot, one more drawing, one more retouch). Long term goals are great, and you need to have them, but make sure you keep moving in the midst of doubt and frustration onto the next part of your story, otherwise it can be easy to get stuck in a place where you don’t move forward at all.
Lastly, since we’re on the mental path at the moment let’s talk about mental health. Both physical and mental health are huge for freelancers, and I might as well be in the audience with you while I type this, because it is a constant struggle! I go to the gym, sometimes, I eat well, most of the time, I sleep, when I can…the list goes on and on. There is a time to push, and in the first years this will be more than most people can handle because of how fast paced the world has become, but you need to figure out how to give yourself rest. I started having quiet times for 10-15 minutes every morning, and it has been a game changer. That’s just 10-15 minutes! I also work really hard to take a whole day away from social media, this is the breeding ground for self-doubt. I try to go to the gym twice a week, I want to go more, but it isn’t realistic with my schedule currently (especially with an infant!). Right now my current goal is working on being present, meaning when I am done with work I am done. I want my wife and kids to have my full attention when I get home, and it’s easy to fall into hopping on your phone the check how things are going. If for some reason I need to answer an e-mail or text I will tell them what I am doing, and finish as quickly as possible, that way they know what’s going on and I am not just staring at my phone for no reason. This is just the beginning of my health journey, and I still have a LONG way to go, set yourself up to succeed by starting now!
That’s going to be the end of this blog and there is certainly more to come! Now we charge headlong into year 4 with number 5 in the crosshairs!
DEFY MEDIOCRACY.
