“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
It is customary now to make New Year resolutions. But at the end of December you probably find out that you made several resolutions which you later forgot. Don’t worry however; since the New Year is upon us, this is your chance to redo everything you couldn’t do last year.
You might want to follow these tips to ensure that you achieve your New Year’s resolutions this time around.
Let’s find out the main mistakes and the way to overcome them.
Mistake #1. Keeping your resolution in your head.
Your New Year's resolution will be easy to forget and even easier to avoid if you keep it in your head.
Error Correction: Write it down! It’s a very simple tip and a very effective one too. Post your goal in a place where you will see it every day. The note will serve as a reminder of your commitment. If you keep a written journal, you'll also boost your chances of success.
Mistake #2. Having unrealistic expectations.
I’m talking about something completely abnormal or unhealthy. An example would be: “I’m going to become the best photographer in my country… just because I’ve bought the newest camera…”
Error Correction: You won’t stick to goals that are unrealistic for you and you won’t stick to goals that are not truly yours. This is the situation where the goals have to be “just right,” not too easy and not too difficult. Many people give up on their New Year’s resolutions because their goals were too lofty and unrealistic, or because they were “forced” to adopt goals to make someone else happy.
Be realistic. Be true to yourself, and make resolutions that you are going to keep. Know the basics, learn more and practice every day and someday (not tomorrow) you could become one of the best photographers in your country.
Mistake #3. Having too many goals.
It can stand to reason that it’s good to have many goals in life. But it can be easy to go overboard with your resolution-making.
Error Corrector: Despite the temptation to use New Year’s as a motivation to get a lot done, it is more efficient to focus on one or two big goals, and not to become distracted by other dreams. Don’t make too many resolutions at one time.
Mistake #4. Having goals which are too vague.
Vague goals are difficult to achieve. Examples of vague photography goals include “become the better photographer,” or “to take great photographs.”
Error correction: You might start with a general goal but you need to unpack vague goals into smaller, doable goals. What exactly do you mean by “better photographer”? Any of your goals could be made more specific and more achievable by quantifying them. For example, “become the professional wedding photographer” or “to take photographs which you like enough to post” are all quantifiable goals in which you can track your progress.
Mistake #5. Having no plan.
No matter what you're trying to do, without a solid plan of action, your good intentions will probably fall short.
Error Correction: You need a plan with a start date, an end date, or end goal (benchmark) for your resolution, otherwise it can be very hard to get started and very hard to complete.
Mistake #6. Seeking immediate results.
New Year's resolutions are challenging because you want for everything to happen right away. But resolutions need time. With each day, you work at improving your life, with a certain goal in mind.
Error Correction: Set small goals that you can pursue bit by bit, and accept that so long as you continue to work toward your resolution, you're doing great. Be patient.
Mistake #7. You're your own harshest critic.
If your best friend failed, you would never call him/her a failure or tell him/her to give up, would you? Instead, you'd probably cheer your friend up by focusing on what he/she's already accomplished and how proud you are of his/her success.
Error Correction: Why not do the same thing for yourself?
Mistake #8. Not Giving Yourself a Deadline.
The Law of Parkinson (derived by Cyril Northcote Parkinson) states that the task will take the time given for it. Without a deadline you will waste your time that is even worse than wasting money because you can never get it back.
Error Correction: Remember this quote: “Goals are dreams without deadlines” (Diana Scharf Hunt)
There’s a saying: “It takes 27 days to create a habit”. By beginning to work with deadlines, you will soon create the habits of discipline and keeping your priorities in order.
Mistake #9. Not Rewarding yourself for your efforts.
You don’t have to pretend to be perfect. That’s just not realistic.
Error Correction: Celebrate when you have successfully reached one of your goals – big or small.
Mistake #10. You don’t know how to handle your bad days.
We all have bad days, days when we don’t feel like doing anything about our resolutions. That’s normal. But it’s not normal if you put additional pressure on yourself thinking that you are a failure.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” (Michael Jordan)
Error Correction: Pump up your enthusiasm and motivation. There are many ways to temporarily pump up your emotions for a short while. You might want to do something that has brought you joy in the past. Pick up your favorite book, meet your friends, go to the gym or go for a walk… This can actually make you feel better. If nothing helps… Do what you know is the right thing to do despite how you feel right now. Just go and do it. As you start doing, you’ll feel better again.
Every New Year brings a new opportunity for everyone to set goals and to learn from our mistakes.
You can reach your goals and make your New Year's resolution a reality.
We’ll speak later about New Year Resolution Ideas on Photography to Begin 2015.
Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading!
It is customary now to make New Year resolutions. But at the end of December you probably find out that you made several resolutions which you later forgot. Don’t worry however; since the New Year is upon us, this is your chance to redo everything you couldn’t do last year.
You might want to follow these tips to ensure that you achieve your New Year’s resolutions this time around.
Let’s find out the main mistakes and the way to overcome them.
Mistake #1. Keeping your resolution in your head.
Your New Year's resolution will be easy to forget and even easier to avoid if you keep it in your head.
Error Correction: Write it down! It’s a very simple tip and a very effective one too. Post your goal in a place where you will see it every day. The note will serve as a reminder of your commitment. If you keep a written journal, you'll also boost your chances of success.
Mistake #2. Having unrealistic expectations.
I’m talking about something completely abnormal or unhealthy. An example would be: “I’m going to become the best photographer in my country… just because I’ve bought the newest camera…”
Error Correction: You won’t stick to goals that are unrealistic for you and you won’t stick to goals that are not truly yours. This is the situation where the goals have to be “just right,” not too easy and not too difficult. Many people give up on their New Year’s resolutions because their goals were too lofty and unrealistic, or because they were “forced” to adopt goals to make someone else happy.
Be realistic. Be true to yourself, and make resolutions that you are going to keep. Know the basics, learn more and practice every day and someday (not tomorrow) you could become one of the best photographers in your country.
Mistake #3. Having too many goals.
It can stand to reason that it’s good to have many goals in life. But it can be easy to go overboard with your resolution-making.
Error Corrector: Despite the temptation to use New Year’s as a motivation to get a lot done, it is more efficient to focus on one or two big goals, and not to become distracted by other dreams. Don’t make too many resolutions at one time.
Mistake #4. Having goals which are too vague.
Vague goals are difficult to achieve. Examples of vague photography goals include “become the better photographer,” or “to take great photographs.”
Error correction: You might start with a general goal but you need to unpack vague goals into smaller, doable goals. What exactly do you mean by “better photographer”? Any of your goals could be made more specific and more achievable by quantifying them. For example, “become the professional wedding photographer” or “to take photographs which you like enough to post” are all quantifiable goals in which you can track your progress.
Mistake #5. Having no plan.
No matter what you're trying to do, without a solid plan of action, your good intentions will probably fall short.
Error Correction: You need a plan with a start date, an end date, or end goal (benchmark) for your resolution, otherwise it can be very hard to get started and very hard to complete.
Mistake #6. Seeking immediate results.
New Year's resolutions are challenging because you want for everything to happen right away. But resolutions need time. With each day, you work at improving your life, with a certain goal in mind.
Error Correction: Set small goals that you can pursue bit by bit, and accept that so long as you continue to work toward your resolution, you're doing great. Be patient.
Mistake #7. You're your own harshest critic.
If your best friend failed, you would never call him/her a failure or tell him/her to give up, would you? Instead, you'd probably cheer your friend up by focusing on what he/she's already accomplished and how proud you are of his/her success.
Error Correction: Why not do the same thing for yourself?
Mistake #8. Not Giving Yourself a Deadline.
The Law of Parkinson (derived by Cyril Northcote Parkinson) states that the task will take the time given for it. Without a deadline you will waste your time that is even worse than wasting money because you can never get it back.
Error Correction: Remember this quote: “Goals are dreams without deadlines” (Diana Scharf Hunt)
There’s a saying: “It takes 27 days to create a habit”. By beginning to work with deadlines, you will soon create the habits of discipline and keeping your priorities in order.
Mistake #9. Not Rewarding yourself for your efforts.
You don’t have to pretend to be perfect. That’s just not realistic.
Error Correction: Celebrate when you have successfully reached one of your goals – big or small.
Mistake #10. You don’t know how to handle your bad days.
We all have bad days, days when we don’t feel like doing anything about our resolutions. That’s normal. But it’s not normal if you put additional pressure on yourself thinking that you are a failure.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” (Michael Jordan)
Error Correction: Pump up your enthusiasm and motivation. There are many ways to temporarily pump up your emotions for a short while. You might want to do something that has brought you joy in the past. Pick up your favorite book, meet your friends, go to the gym or go for a walk… This can actually make you feel better. If nothing helps… Do what you know is the right thing to do despite how you feel right now. Just go and do it. As you start doing, you’ll feel better again.
Every New Year brings a new opportunity for everyone to set goals and to learn from our mistakes.
You can reach your goals and make your New Year's resolution a reality.
We’ll speak later about New Year Resolution Ideas on Photography to Begin 2015.
Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment