Intention from Frustration

I think it happens to all creative people. Actually I think it happens to every person with any kind of aspiration. You're X, you see Y, want to be Y, but don't know how to be more than X. Don't know how to get there or why it't not happening faster. You're doing the right things, or so you think, and it's not happening.

It's silly because we all know how to really get better at anything: time and practice. Of course no one is a pro right off the bat. But it feels like everyone else but you is "making it" bigger and faster.

I think the key, at least with the things I'm aspiring to be and create, is to slow it down. Take the time to remember how I wanted something to look and figure out what I need to do to set it up for success. Pictures, designs, everything down to what cothes I buy. I'd like to stop getting things done and start doing them the way they feel good to me, and something I'm proud of later. Now that I'm writing this out I'm thinking of all the different things this is applying to in my life, and how much more I need to implement "intentional" into my daily life. So many days go by where I wear something just cause it's clean, eat some junky food just because I'm hungry and too lazy to cook, buy something just because I "need" something new.

And then it filters into my work. Which is what this post was originally about. Making a picture more exposed because it's dark, when I could play with the darkness that I originally captured. Designing something in a way that's predictable and easy. It's easy to do the first thing that comes to mind, but something magical happens when you pause. And think. Think about something differently than what you'd normally do. Maybe even use a mistake to your advantage and play with it until it isn't a mistake anymore. And if it still ends up being something you're not happy with, that's ok. The chances of making something out of nothing are too great to pass by.

So next time you're about to make an easy choice, think a little harder and with intention. Intention is what makes you better at what you're doing. It's what gets you closer to being/doing/having/creating that thing you've got in mind.

Side note** the picture above was chosen for two reasons: I took my time photographing Nova one morning when the lighting behind my house seemed perfect. And I was prtty happy with the results! ALSO because this girl is just so breathtakingly beautiful I can't help but share her.