IS FEAR CAUSING YOU TO SHRINK BACK? TO LOSE YOUR CREATIVE SIDE? TO BE TOO AFRAID TO TAKE A RISK AND MAKE ANY PROGRESS?

As I thought about the last few years, I realized that this is where many of us are today. Years ago, as the market became diluted and overrun with "pop up" photographers, at first, we watched them to try to understand what was happening, especially as we saw many studios go out of business. 

But...what they were doing was not us and would never be. And the low prices they charged would not be enough to run our brick and mortar studio.

We then realized that to succeed, we must run in the opposite direction of the masses and in doing so, CREATE GAPS between us and them. We stuck to our convictions back then and we are still standing by them. 

Is it a risk? Sure, life itself is a risk, but we must learn to embrace risk and not fight it. And no, it is never comfortable!

It changes us inside, helps us be more spontaneous and takes us to new levels. We don't like risks, but we need to learn to appreciate them. 

On a workshop we were on in Italy a few years ago, we noticed one of the workshop participants came alone which caught my attention. Tim and I are always together and I wondered what caused this young woman to come alone on this trip, so I asked her. She said she came by herself to grow and conquer her fear of being alone. I thought that was admirable! She had made a decision to stretch, take a small risk and grow from it. By the end of the workshop, she had many new friends and had a wonderful time!

Here are three benefits of taking risks:

ONE: Empowers you to establish new limits in your mind and abolish imaginery boundries that restrict your progress. We can so so much more than we think, if we will take a risk and try.

TWO: Helps you to be more creative. When you put yourself out on a limb, with a no-excuse approach, your natural problem-solving skills kick in and you’re open to new ideas and are willing to try something new.

Case in point is the painting above. I decided I wanted to sit down and paint a snapshot (never had before) instead of a studio portrait. It was just for me-no pressure to please anyone else which helped me step out a bit more than usual. I LOVE the result and I learned about myself and my limits in this exercise.

THREE: Allows you to break free of being "average." Remember the commercial that states if something is "just alright" then it is not alright. I don't want to be just alright or average. I want to push boundries. Risks help you build self confidence and self respect. 

As I have worked to create a space for myself as a painter (using Corel), I have both taken risks and played it safe. I don't know, nor am I even close, to understanding this immensely complicated software, but I know enough to get started on a painting and then, I have to really push to step out of my comfort zone. It is a constant challenge for me and I still play it safe too many times:-(

However, having someone in your life to be your #1 fan surely helps. Tim is my #1 fan and I am his. We are able to stretch because we know we have each other's backs, we encourage each other and no idea is "stupid." 

Nothing in this life is truly guaranteed. We take risks, learning from both the failures and successes and we move on. In fact, we often learn more from our failures than our successes. 

So, I encourage you to go for it. You’ll never know what all you can accomplish until you do something you’ve never done.