Thursday, January 2, 2014

Word of the Year in 2014 ~ Focus on Photography

I am so happy 2014 is here.   Not that 2013 didn't have some highlights but I’m ready for a fresh start and a blank canvas to mold this year into something even better.

Many people I know pick out a word of the year to strive for.  I thought about choosing “Growth”, but then realized it might be too vague, and it could be misinterpreted into growth to my waistline, vs growth of my business and personal life. I had many other choices as well, some things I'm already pretty good at, and others I tend to overlook at times or would just like to improve on.

My prior year's word was "Dream", where dream equals ambition, to follow my dream and my heart.  This actually worked amazingly well, and the focus on business and my dream of a studio was great for my career, but not so great for my personal life.  Towards the end of last year my garden suffered because I didn't have the time to give it the attention it needed. Worse yet, I stopped taking pictures for fun, and most of my images were client driven. (With the exception of my iPhone images and Instagram account.)  I went from taking a personal picture a day with my camera, to picking it up for fun about once a quarter!

Most of the people I know who don’t live in the Bay Area have a much better balance between home and work.  It’s my goal to strive for this as well, and thus my word for 2014 is “Balance”. My hopes is by finding a balance, I may actually take a real vacation this year!  We have a couple of milestone birthday’s this fall, and so perhaps I should start planning for them now.  (Especially since fall can be busy with sessions.)

I still plan on putting in 110% at Suzi Worley Photography, and have some fun things in the works, but I plan to officially checkout on occasion as well, and not work all of the time, but instead re-group to focus on family.  I hope to streamline my time on this blog, Facebook, and Social Media, and start delegating projects too! (Delegate could have been a great word as well, as I tend to try and do it all, and fear this is part of the reason why some areas of my life have suffered from neglect.)  


I think the focus on balance will not only help me become an even better photographer, but a better person as well.  I love what I do, and am so excited about the new happenings at Studio 235, I can’t wait to see what we come up with this year for sessions, etc.  But I’m also looking forward to some much needed friends and family time as well.

Do you choose a word of the year?  If so what is it?  I'd love to start this journey with as many people as possible, and perhaps check in every now and then to see if you're still on track.  Let me know if you're in via the comments below and have a great 2014!

2 comments:

  1. I'd never heard of picking a word for the year and now I've read three blogs that focused on doing just that! While it's an admirable goal, it's too much pressure for me right now! (aka: laziness?) :-) So, I'll live vicariously through your wonderful word of Balance and hope some of your karma rubs off on me! I wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous...and balanced...2014, my friend.

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  2. Love this! Happy new Year to you!! I've enjoyed your photography so much, thank you for the inspiration :)

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