Advance

In life it seems the best strategy is to never stop advancing, moving forward, against any adversaries or difficulties.

Keep moving forward

The rolling stone never gathers moss.

Publilius Syrus

Forward motion is the best. With physics we know momentum;

An object in motion tends to stay in motion.

And from practical experience:

It is easier to keep moving an object already in motion than to start moving an object from a standstill.

John Wick

This means:

  1. If you want to advance (move forward) in your photography, just keep moving forward. Keep shooting everyday, all day! Shoot anything and everything; no limits or categories.
  2. For physical strength, never stop moving (walking), go to the gym everyday (lift weights or do exercises which are fun for you).
  3. Keep advancing your knowledge, wisdom, and artistic insights. Study masters from the past (artists and philosophers), and keep making your own artwork and philosophical ideas.

The act of advancing is more fun than the state of “being advanced”.

flowers

It seems we derive the greatest joy when perceiving progress or change:

Witnessing your personal development from Point A in your life to Point B.

flowers

How can you chart/track your growth?

Abstract texture

This is where you need to become the ultimate arbiter and judge of yourself.

Just be brutally honest with yourself —

Do I perceive myself wiser, stronger, and more creatively productive today than yesterday?

Also,

As time goes on, is my self-confidence, brazenness, and boldness growing or weakening?

What is important to you?

Pole

Ultimately all growth and progress is subjective.

For example, it is silly to track your weight gain or loss. Perhaps better to track your body fat percentage for personal bodily aesthetics. Because if you chopped off your left arm to “lose weight”, this would be foolhardy.

You shouldn’t track your “productivity” by how many answers you email in a day. This measurement would be silly, especially if you’re tracking how effective you are in organizing spam, and answering unimportant emails.

It seems the most important thing is:

Focus on what is personally important and meaningful to you, and disregard/ignore what you consider as unimportant and meaningless to you.

Never stop advancing!

ERIC