Fear can cause me to feel agitated, angry and emotional. My body tenses to the point of break down, with the benefit of a constant well of tears.

BUT, I also know fear is a motivator; that it pushes me to rise to the occasion and feel inspired all at the same time. How do you get from the welling up to “motivation part”?

Taking the time to clear my head in a quiet atmosphere like on a walk, or forcing some ‘quiet’ by listening to some music. I breathe deeply and tell myself I can do this, I want to do this.

After I’ve taken that time for myself I start tackling my fear with passion instead. It becomes this desire to learn, to teach myself and to conquer. I let the fear drive me into a place of determination and strength to conquer this new challenge.

I have learned in this photography journey to slow down and learn one task at a time. As a mom, we are used to multitasking. For me, it was really important to take each step with dedicated focus, to take the time to learn each individual step correctly. My skills, and yours will be stronger. Put together and you’ve conquered a new skill.

Start with the basics and practice them until you have mastered this one task. I realized with photography that in order to have confidence in my art I need to understand the “why” in what I do at each step. Once you master what you are learning at the moment, THEN consider what is next.

I took each lesson in slowly with Courtney’s class practicing one technique over and over, and over again until I felt comfortable to move on. The image below is one that reflects hours and thousands (literally) of pictures where I was sitting on the floor trying to get the image in my head reflected in the camera.

When I finally did, I was and still am SO proud of my perseverance. What I have since learned is that I could have shot this image many different ways, but ultimately the goal was to understand and learn the technical side of an image like this first.

Now, as I’ve pulled many of the skills I learned together I realize that I can go in many different ways artistically.

Another way I’ve applied ‘steps’ to my learning is with Instagram, and the various communities. My first step was starting a “365 project/a picture-a-day” after my class ended to continue my daily learning. Here I learned to incorporate practice in my daily life.

As I grew more comfortable I grew into the next step; photo editing. From there I eventually upgraded my camera. Again, each step of mastery prepared for the next journey.

Write your goals down, big and small. Work on the small first so you can feel a sense of accomplishment. Be very specific, and break them down into yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals.

Focus on doing one goal at a time. (No cheating multitaskers) Most importantly, place them in a spot that you can be reminded daily.

Saying them out loud even helps! I include texting these reminders to your partner.

Writing goals down helps you to be accountable for your actions and gives you the motivation to work towards your end goal.

Ask yourself, what do I want to learn right now? How do I achieve that goal? When do I want to achieve the goal by? This allows you to open yourself up to learning and making progress to create change.

Our time is precious, and often disappears the moment we start our days.
Planning your time helps you focus your time on the steps, and achieving your goals.

I like to have very specific times set to work or creativity which allows you to focus on that one ‘step’ without any distractions.

Use a planner and write in your time for each month. By doing this you can avoid feeling overwhelmed with multitasking photography and family life. You will feel less guilty and more productive.

Turn off all distractions such as Facebook, Instagram, and email! Just focus during those set times, and your productivity, and achievements will soar.

No question too small or dumb. I have learned that it is so much better to ask the questions that may seem insignificant to others and challenging to you. You will find that maybe someone else can help you answer your question or even better, show you on your camera.

Join a Facebook, Instagram group or other social media group to motivate each other and seek critiques/advice. One of the most cherished mantra’s I’ve heard, experienced and internalized is “community over competition.”

I’ve been fortunate through happenstance; hubby’s childhood friend or virtual classmates to have developed support mechanisms near and far. I’m grateful for the community that I’ve learned so much from, and most importantly that got me through those moments of fear.

As you learn you too will be able to teach others in your place and when you teach others you retain that knowledge even more.

Overcoming fear of developing something new and overcoming life’s tug-o-war for your time and attention I’ve found that I allowed myself to be vulnerable. Vulnerable to the woman in the mirror and to strangers in the community. Overcoming the desire to quit has become a great asset.

Putting yourself out there is the only way to learn. Learn from your peers, and mentors. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Give yourself a break. Life can be overwhelming and try something new. Like me, I’m sure your creative interest in photography was peeked from somewhere within. Listen to that.

Don’t give up. By taking that first step you may surprise yourself when the fear starts to slip away, and you start dancing across new skills and challenges.

The number one take away is a bit cliché, but it’s truth: “Believe in Yourself!