Why Photographers Should Take Time to Smell the Roses

As a photographer, your tool kit is filled to the brim; Your expensive camera, your collection of lenses, your years of experience, your boundless creativity. But there is one element at the root of it all that is essential to success: optimism.

Of course, this trait is not partial to photographers. A quick survey of successful people in business or in life would reveal optimism to be as inherently present as oxygen. As necessary as H2O.

The bare truth is that life is hard. It is filled with ups and downs. It is filled with mystery and uncertainty. Even as we sail full steam ahead, we can never know what lies in wait for us around the corner.

There are two ways to enter this tenuous path. One can choose to ignore the rosebuds for fear of the thorns, taking every scratch to be a premonition of an impending fatal wound. Or, one can accept the flower in its entirety, choosing to recognize its beauty, sharp edges and all, as reinforcement of the unspeakable greatness this world can produce.

It’s very tempting to go the first route, to focus on life’s downsides, to dwell in the negative, to overlook every accomplishment simply because someone else in the world has accomplished more. But what if you made the other choice?

What if, instead of bemoaning the fact that you haven’t yet been hired to shoot the cover of Vanity Fair, you instead choose to celebrate your publication in the small local paper? What if, instead of belittling yourself for not being able to shoot the same way as a famous photographer, you choose to celebrate the slow but steady development of your own visual style? These accomplishments may seem small to you, but imagine what kind of effect a daily dose of positivity can have on your your life. How full would your optimism tank be after months of taking note of the good things in life, rather than binging on the bad?

As part of my business practice, I keep what I rather blandly call my “accountability log.” It’s something of a calendar/to-do list/marketing activity hybrid. I use it on a daily basis to define what I need to accomplish that day, document what I actually accomplished, and generate new ideas on how to accomplish more in days to come.

The log is filled with multiple columns, mostly rather dry and descriptive. But my favorite section is the aptly named “Amazing Things That Happened Today.” A quick scroll through the section’s past daily entries may uncover anything from “had a great workout today” to “shot my first Nike campaign.” Or sometimes it’s just as simple as “learned a new trick in Photoshop” or “spent time with my Dad.”

Some things may seem truly amazing, and some may just seem routine. But the simple fact is that, when one takes a moment to think about it, life itself is amazing. The fact that we are here at all is amazing. The fact that we’ve been granted another day of life is amazing. The fact that we get to spend that day pursuing our passion and artistic purpose is... amazing.

Sure, as we pass through life, it’s not all roses. No one makes it through this world undefeated. But to be successful, you have to know how to get back up. To have the strength to get back up, you have to know that no matter what your circumstances, amazing things are possible. When you take time to smell the roses, to celebrate all of life’s wins, from the magnificent to the mundane, you will find yourself constantly replenishing that optimism. You will start to look forward to each day, knowing there will be good things to come. Even if that accomplishment is simply having the strength to spend that day pursuing your dream and working hard to improve your life.

You can get through the nightfall with belief in the rising sun. And when those truly amazing moments in life do arrive and you shyly say to yourself through blushed cheeks “it can’t get better than this,” somewhere deep inside, you’ll know that it can.

And it will.