Also visit my Photography by DonnaKay blog @
http://blog.photographybydonnakay.com
... a little more about my life as a photographer...
How often do you reflect on your life? Whether it is to reflect back on the day, the week or the past year...much less to reflect back as far as you can remember? I guess I'm a "reflector" of sorts, because I'm constantly reflecting on my life. I am looking for change, improvement, growth in myself. It makes me sad to look back and see a bad habit or behavior that has been there for a long time, and I haven't done what I need to do to bring about change in myself. And it makes me equally excited to reflect back and see growth and change from something bad to finally reaching a place of having it under control. YEA - something to celebrate!! But something that makes me a bit leery is those people who DON'T reflect on their lives. Ever. And there are those people. To me that is a dangerous - and maybe irresponsible way to live. What is behind us is DEFINITELY behind us - it is the past and we can't change it. And often it is best to leave it back there! But you can't ignore it or make it disappear. So you LEARN from it. You learn what did and what didn't work - what did and didn't hurt.
Just like most people, I don't like to fail at things. It can be embarrassing, humiliating, hurtful, and sometimes even damaging. But failure can also be good... and we need to remember that. A failure can sometimes be EXACTLY what we need because what we were going after wasn't good for us to begin with... and not the direction our lives needed to go. So failure can change that path. And a failure almost always offers a chance to learn. We can analyze choices & decisions and figure out how not to make the wrong ones the next time! And quite honestly, sometimes a SUCCESS is so much sweeter after there has been a failure. We seem to appreciate that success so much more because we KNOW how hard it was to achieve. At that point, we can often look back and see so much growth because of all the lessons learned along the way. Without reflecting, this would just not be as possible.
Don't be afraid of the past. LOOK at it square in the eye - see what you want to repeat, and exactly what you don't. And don't let it be shame that you take the most from the past - but lessons in life that will help you grow into a stronger and better person. That's what it's all about. We fall down, get get back up and try again. Embrace your past - reflect on it often - and it will give you a better future.
Have a GREAT day!!
