To live a more fulfilling life, conquer your fears in life, and meet new peers.
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1. Conquer your fears
I think a lot of us can achieve so much more in our lives, if only we didn’t fear so much.
We fear social stigma. We fear “failure” in the eyes of others. We fear disappointing ourselves. We fear being true to ourselves, and instead — listening to what our parents or society wants from us.
We fear getting yelled at. We fear going bankrupt. We fear physical pain and discomfort.
Yet — if we didn’t let our fears hold us back — just imagine … how far could you fly?
Take more risks in life
For example, a lot of us get interesting new job opportunities, but we are afraid to take the risk or chance — being uprooting, moving, or doing something new is scary.
We fall into the “status quo bias”— we don’t like to change our lives. We like to fall into the same old, the usual, the ordinary. As humans, we don’t like change. My theory is that in the past, humans have preferred predictability and safety over adventure and excitement. This probably kept us alive longer — those who took crazy risks, probably died off and exited the gene pool. Those who were more cautious, and were less ambitious, ended up surviving. And thus, our DNA and genes have come from our (more prudent) forefathers.
What is your worst case scenario?
But in today’s day and age — what do you truly fear?
Personally, I’ve seen my mother go through bankruptcy. It sucked. But to be frank, it wasn’t that bad.
It was difficult for us to find housing or for my mom to open up a bank account or credit card. Yet, we still managed. We were able to rely on our family and friend connections, and we never starved to death.
This was a good lesson for me, because it taught me:
Even if you go bankrupt, and go broke — it’s not that bad. You can start over again. You won’t die — at least in America.
What held me back
Also for myself in the past, I wanted everyone to like me. This meant, I would be paralyzed from saying anything too controversial or opinionated — because why? I might hurt the feelings of others or upset others.
But I realized, to be a true artist is to just own your own opinion, and not be ashamed of your own opinion.
Therefore, I started to not fear what others thought of me. I stopped reading comments, because comments didn’t really help me — either people gave me praise, or they hated on me. I became so self-centered, that I only cared about my own opinion about myself. This helped me have less fear, and to be more courageous as an artist.
Therefore as an artist, for you to have more confidence in yourself, and your own unique vision — I suggest you to distance yourself from social media, modern news, modern media, modern trends, as much as possible. Become a Zen artistic sage, stay centered within yourself, and make art.
2. Meet new peers
I love meeting new people. If I have one skill, it is the art of people.
I studied sociology in school, because I’ve always been fascinated in people. I love people. I make small talk with almost anyone I meet, and I’m interested in the life stories of everyone. If you meet me in real life, you will see that I’m a pretty charming mofo.
Anyways, the reason I love teaching workshops is the chance for me to make new connections and make new friends. I find the most inspiration in other people — their cultural customs, their ways of seeing the world. Often, their views augment my view of the world. They help me see the world more open-minded. I often get too close minded.
Therefore there is a balance — balance the extremes of extreme seclusion (disconnect from email, social media, reading comments) then moments of extreme sociability (preferably in real life).
If you’re interested in street photography, it is probably because you are interested in people, society, and the world. Street photography would be very boring without any other human beings.
Therefore, if you’re interested in Street photography, you’re interested and passionate about people.
One thing that concerns me a bit in modern society — we are slowing losing our ability to socialize. Most people nowadays don’t know how to pay attention during a conversation without looking at their phone. To be frank, I used to be addicted to my phone (I think phones are more addictive than crack cocaine)— so I gave away my phone. My mind has been so much clearer now. I can have conversations without being distracted with any “phantom rings” inside my front jean pocket.
Why are we afraid of strangers?
I also see that most modern people are afraid, suspicious, or unable to make conversation with strangers. Personally I blame the media — the media has made us more afraid of strangers. Yet, if you go to smaller communities, everyone loves to make small chat with strangers. I love that.
Even when I lived in East Lansing in Michigan, I loved how random strangers would just wave at me and say hello. I try to practice this strategy in big cities now too.
Push Yourself out of your comfort zone
To find more joy in life, I recommend you to try these two things:
- Address your fears in life — and then ask yourself, “Is it really that bad?”
- Meet new people: go to random dinner parties, make small talk with strangers, or shoot street photography.
These are two simple things that will help push you outside of your comfort zone, to find more novelty, randomness, and joy in your life — to become more confident, brave, and centered in yourself.
BE STRONG,
ERIC