{"id":24516,"date":"2015-08-31T02:00:39","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T09:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=24516"},"modified":"2015-08-31T02:22:52","modified_gmt":"2015-08-31T09:22:52","slug":"on-positivity-and-street-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/31\/on-positivity-and-street-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"On Positivity and Street Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"San
San Diego, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Read as a Google Doc<\/a> or download as PDF<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

There is so much negativity and bullshit out there in modern life. I always hear people bitching and moaning about the difficulties of their lives, how they want more money, how their camera isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t good enough, how their significant others are horrible people, and how the world is going to shit. The media is constantly spewing negativity, with news about terrorist attacks, gun shootings, peoples\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 heads being cut off, and how the economy is going to shit.<\/p>\n

Honestly, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t blame anybody or the individual. I blame more of society and modern media, as well as the human bias that we focus on the negatives more than the positives.<\/p>\n

In psychology, we all have a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153risk-aversion<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d bias, meaning, we hate to lose $100 dollars more than winning $100. We value security and not dying over anything else.<\/p>\n

This was a good biological bias when we were hunter-gatherers in the savannah. After all, those who were anxious and risk-averse were the ones who didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mistake a lion for a friendly kitten. Those who were high-strung, anxious, and cautious were the ones who survived. Those who thought that everything in life was rosy, carefree, and easy generally died off (or were probably expelled from the tribe because they were seen as lazy slackers).<\/p>\n

Fortunately we now live in a modern world in which all of our basic needs are met. Most of us have access to clean water, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t starve to death, and we have protection from the cold. Sure there are many people out there still living in poverty, but fortunately most of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153modern\u00e2\u20ac\u009d world have enough to survive and not die.<\/p>\n

However we still have our hard-wiring in our brains that make us focus on the negatives, not the positives in life.<\/p>\n

For example, rather than being grateful for what we have, we focus on what we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> have. Rather than being grateful for the money we earn and have in the bank, we are anxious and scared of becoming homeless that we try to accumulate endless amounts of money. Rather than focusing on the positives of our friends, family, and co-workers, we focus on their negative attributes and how they can improve.<\/p>\n

Reality isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t objective. Reality comes down to how we see and interpret the world.<\/p>\n

For example, most people would say it is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153objectively\u00e2\u20ac\u009d good to be a millionaire. However in reality, a millionaire can be miserable if all of his\/her best friends are billionaires. They might \u00e2\u20ac\u0153only\u00e2\u20ac\u009d drive a BMW 3-series, while all their buddies drive Ferraris. Even apparently billionaires are the most envious people on the planet. Even if you own your own private jet, your best friend (another richer billionaire) can own his own private island. Even if you own your own private island, your friend might own their own spaceship. Even if you own your own spaceship, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t escape death (no matter how rich you are).<\/p>\n

Another human bias: we always compare ourselves to one another. For example, even though I have the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d film camera (Leica MP and 35mm summicron lens), I am often jealous of my friends who own \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d film cameras like a Mamiya 7ii. Sometimes I compare my 35mm Summicron f\/2 lens to my friends who have a 35mm f\/1.4 Summilux lens and feel inadequate and jealous. Even though I have 20,000 followers on Instagram, I feel like a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nobody\u00e2\u20ac\u009d compared to my friends who have 100,000+ followers on Instagram. No matter how \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I have it, there is always someone out there who is richer, more talented, more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153respected\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, more popular, or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better than me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Nothing is ever good enough for us. Once we finally buy that new camera we want, go on that fancy vacation, that promotion we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve wanted, that raise of money, we get accustomed to it after a while. Then we want the next \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d thing. They call this the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hedonic treadmill<\/a>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

So how do we overcome this sense of jealousy, negativity, and feeling of inadequacy in our photography and life?<\/p>\n

It is simple: Be grateful for what you have<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The quickest way to become rich is to eliminate desire. The quickest way to improve your self-esteem is to not give a shit what others think of you. The quickest way to remove dissatisfaction on social media (not having enough followers or likes) is to delete your account.<\/p>\n

Not only that, but another solution: Focus on the positives, not negatives in life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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There is a new trend in psychology called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153positive psychology<\/a>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I think often people misconstrue positive psychology a bunch of people, sitting in a circle, holding hands, chanting mantras, and saying that everything in life is rosy.<\/p>\n

However the way I think of positive psychology is acknowledging the pain, negativity, and bullshit of everyday life but yet deciding to focus on the positives, not the negatives.<\/p>\n

Focusing on the negatives of life is a waste of time, energy, and the worst return-on-investment. Focusing on the negatives won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t improve your life. It will just make you more miserable and dissatisfied.<\/p>\n

No matter how shitty your life is, or how shitty your day was, there are always positive things to be grateful for.<\/p>\n

For example, whenever I have a shitty day, I try to journal in a moleskine 3 things I am grateful for. This helps me focus on the positives, not negatives of my day. Some things I write in my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gratitude journal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d include<\/p>\n