{"id":26395,"date":"2015-12-23T13:42:24","date_gmt":"2015-12-23T21:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=26395"},"modified":"2015-12-23T13:42:24","modified_gmt":"2015-12-23T21:42:24","slug":"dissatisfaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/23\/dissatisfaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Dissatisfaction"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Anaheim,
Anaheim, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In American society\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we are always told to buy more<\/em> shit to take away our misery and dissatisfaction in our lives.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The mistake; materialism and buying and adding<\/em> things to your life doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remove<\/em> your dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n

Rather, adding materialistic things often adds<\/em> complications and frustrations to our life, rather than removing<\/em> complications from our life.<\/p>\n

Buying a Leica will fix all your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems<\/h2>\n

For example, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say that I add<\/em> an expensive camera to my life. By adding<\/em> that new camera to my life, I have added<\/em> frustrations and stresses.<\/p>\n

For example, a new digital camera means more<\/em> megapixels, meaning that I need to add<\/em> more hard drive space, perhaps purchase a new laptop that can have more<\/em> processing power and speed.<\/p>\n

Buying a new camera means that you need to have more<\/em> worries about it not getting scratched, getting stolen, etc. Furthermore, having to figure out what new laptop to buy is additional<\/em> stress (should I buy a PC, a Macbook Pro, if I want to buy a Macbook pro, should I get a 13\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or a 15\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u2122? Also what configuration should I buy? Should I get insurance, or the additional warranty?)<\/p>\n

More stuff, more problems<\/h2>\n

Buy a new car\u00e2\u20ac\u201d more stress. Worry about someone denting your car, worry about having to spend more<\/em> money on insurance (full-coverage), and probably getting more<\/em> speeding tickets (if you buy a sports car).<\/p>\n

Even if you buy a new sports car, that means more<\/em> stress because you want to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153upgrade\u00e2\u20ac\u009d your car\u00e2\u20ac\u201d by adding<\/em> additional equipment to it (upgraded headers, intake, exhaust, turbo, new rims, lowering springs, etc).<\/p>\n

Buy that new iPhone 6s<\/h2>\n

New electronics? Added<\/em> stress. The anxiety of having your new iPhone scratched. Figuring out what new case to add<\/em> to your phone. Figuring out what new apps to download and add<\/em>.<\/p>\n

#photography #iPhoneography #buyfilmnotmegapixels #streettogs #ricohgr #nofilter<\/h2>\n

Social media; trying to figure out how to get more<\/em> comments, more<\/em> likes.<\/p>\n

Spending more time on social media = more stress.<\/p>\n

For me personally, the anxiety I get from not<\/em> getting as many \u00e2\u20ac\u0153likes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on my photos that I expect is worse than the pleasure I gain from the actual likes I receive.<\/p>\n

For example, when I started my first photography blog, I would be overjoyed to have 50 views or 1-2 comments in a day. Now if I get \u00e2\u20ac\u0153only\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 500 likes on a photo (instead of 1,000) I feel inadequate and frustrated.<\/p>\n

Fuck \u00e2\u20ac\u0153upgrading\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

The TVs, advertisements, billboard ads all tell you:<\/p>\n

\n Upgrade\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What you have isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t good enough. You are dissatisfied. If you buy this new thing, this will fix your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems.<\/p>\n

Your iPhone 5s looks dated. Do you see how big and sexy the iPhone 6s is? It has a new camera. It has a bigger screen. The \u00e2\u20ac\u01533d touch\u00e2\u20ac\u009d feature will change\/revolutionize your life.<\/p>\n

Your Honda is looking a bit dented and rusted. Buy that new BMW; it is the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ultimate driving experience\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you spend so much time stuck in traffic anyways, wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you rather drive around town in luxury? See how sexy the lines in that car look?<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not good enough<\/h2>\n

Your photos suck. Upgrade your camera. You will get a few more megapixels, faster autofocus, face-detection, better ISO performance, whatever.<\/p>\n

Your laptop is slow. Upgrade it. Get that retina screen. You will see your photos much sharper\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and your post-processing will improve. Then you will get more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153likes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on social media.<\/p>\n

It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a waste of money, it is an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153investment\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

Your jeans look faded. Get that new pair of raw-denim for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153only\u00e2\u20ac\u009d $300. Sure, it is a lot of money, but it is an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153investment\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you can wear it for 10 years instead of just 1 year for that pair of cheap UNIQLO pants that will wear out quickly.<\/p>\n

You want to save money don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you? Yeah you do\u00e2\u20ac\u201d so spend a shitload of money once, and you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t regret it.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t settle<\/h2>\n

You need the best. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153settle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d after all if you buy the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, you will be satisfied won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you?<\/p>\n

Go ahead, spend that $8,000 on that new Leica and lens. Once you have the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d you will be satisfied and never will have the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153urge\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to upgrade anymore.<\/p>\n

Buy that bigass house\u00e2\u20ac\u201d after all, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have kids in the future won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you? You want to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153invest\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in your future\u00e2\u20ac\u201d don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t piss away your money in rent. And don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about those taxes on your property\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is just another tax deduction! Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let Uncle Sam steal any of your hard-earned money.<\/p>\n

Treat yourself<\/h2>\n

Common you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worked hard this year. Why save money, indulge yourself friend. Buy all the shit you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve wanted this year. Add to your life by buying all this stuff, and trust me\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it will make you feel so much better and happier in your life.<\/p>\n

Your equipment is holding you back<\/h2>\n

Once you buy that new camera, you will go out and be more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153inspired.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d You will unlock new creativity. You will get more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creamy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d bokeh with that new lens\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is only $1,000. Common, you slave away at your cubicle day-and-night; you deserve to treat yourself.<\/p>\n

Devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advocate<\/h2>\n

The voice that is always in my head. The voice that tells me that I am inadequate. The voice that tells me that I need to buy more shit, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153upgrade\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and the sound of dissatisfaction reverberating in my head.<\/p>\n

The voice that compares myself to others. The voice that tells me that I am not good enough, not handsome enough, not fashionable enough, not a good-enough photographer. Not buff or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ripped\u00e2\u20ac\u009d enough. You look at those magazines, and imagine how much happier you would look if you look as ripped as those 6-pac guys in the front.<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a woman\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you go to Yoga class, see all those sexy other girls in their LuluLemon pants\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and you compare yourself to them. You will never be as sexy or slim as them. But if you ever were as sexy and slim as them\u00e2\u20ac\u201d all your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems will dissolve.<\/p>\n

You try that new fad diet. You torture yourself. But never forget\u00e2\u20ac\u201d those ladies who you are jealous of\u00e2\u20ac\u201d they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t satisfied with their physique either. They are comparing themselves to the other models in these Yoga magazines doing handstands. They are dissatisfied.<\/p>\n

Why are we dissatisfied?<\/h2>\n

We are all dissatisfied.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

We are always comparing ourselves to others.<\/p>\n

The solution?<\/p>\n

Ignore everybody else. Lock yourself up. Only let your close friends and family into your life.<\/p>\n

Block the internet. Spend as little time on your smartphone and social media at the time.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Invest\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in experiences instead of stuff.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve recently wanted to buy something for $500 (iPhone 5s). I tried to convince myself that it was a good idea\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but would I rather spend $500 having 25 meals at all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ (assuming each meal cost $20) than just having another \u00e2\u20ac\u0153device\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that will just rust and be disposable in a few years.<\/p>\n

Satisfaction<\/h2>\n

Satisfaction\u00e2\u20ac\u201d so goddamn hard to achieve.<\/p>\n

Even look at people like Kanye West. Arguably the most recognized rapper out there. But he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not satisfied with his music nor his influence.<\/p>\n

He wants to take over the world\u00e2\u20ac\u201d he wants to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153respected\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153taken seriously\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the fashion world.<\/p>\n

All these famous comedians are afraid of becoming redundant and forgotten.<\/p>\n

Sooner or later\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we all die. We are all forgotten.<\/p>\n

Even Michael Jackson\u00e2\u20ac\u201d arguably one of the most famous singers\/writers\/performers in history\u00e2\u20ac\u201d who ever talks about him anymore? And if anyone does, the accusations of him being a child-molester come up.<\/p>\n

Elvis Presley\u00e2\u20ac\u201d at the top of his game? How did he die? Over-dose on drugs\u00e2\u20ac\u201d was he really satisfied with his life? And who talks about Elvis, unless it is during Halloween when someone wears a goofy outfit?<\/p>\n

Even Henri Cartier-Bresson; the most venerated photographer in history. He got \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bored\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or frustrated with his photography after 30 years, and just gave it all up to continue drawing in the rest of his life. Was he satisfied with his life and work? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure\u00e2\u20ac\u201d he hated hanging his own work. And another story I heard\u00e2\u20ac\u201d he was frustrated that his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best-sellers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were just the puddle-jumping man, whereas the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d photos that he made were never sold.<\/p>\n

You rock.<\/h2>\n

Give a middle-finger to the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expectations of you.<\/p>\n

Be satisfied with your life.<\/p>\n

Be satisfied with your image, your physique, the material things you have, your job, your spouse, your kids, your friends, your loved ones.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look for reasons why you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like your life.<\/p>\n

Look for reasons why you love your life.<\/p>\n

You live in the suburbs? Thank God you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t live in the hood and have to worry about being jumped on the way to school.<\/p>\n

You have a boring 9-5 tech job? Thank God you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not in India cleaning toilets (watch Slumdog millionaire and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see what I mean).<\/p>\n

You dissatisfied with your older-generation Fuji and wish you had a digital Leica? Think about the kid who just has a shitty smartphone camera, and would die to have the camera you have. And remember how excited everyone was when the original x100 came out\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpoor man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Leica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 which was so revolutionary.<\/p>\n

Dissatisfied with your old iPhone? Remember; it was the iPhone4 which was supposed to be the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d size (according to Steve Jobs). Even a lot of Apple evangelists call the iPhone 5S the last \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true\u00e2\u20ac\u009d iPhone (I personally think the new iPhone 6s\/+ are too big).<\/p>\n

Your laptop too slow? Strip it down\u00e2\u20ac\u201d rather than upgrading it, see which apps you can uninstall. Perhaps re-install a new OS on it that runs faster (some stripped-down version of Linux).<\/p>\n

Dissatisfied with the photo books you have? Re-read them, and try to look at them slower.<\/p>\n

Hate where you live? Think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative constraints\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the more boring the place you live, the harder you have to try to be creative. This becomes a benefit; not a disadvantage.<\/p>\n

The voices in my head<\/h2>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m no saint. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m flawed, a typical American consumer who will (probably never) be satisfied with his life.<\/p>\n

Everyday I am just trying to be a little less miserable, a little less deceitful, a little less egotistic, a little less materialistic, a little less hot-tempered, and a little less shitty of a person.<\/p>\n

It is a constant struggle. But writing these words are a bit of self-therapy for myself.<\/p>\n

And all those \u00e2\u20ac\u0153voices\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the devils advocate written earlier in this letter? Yeah\u00e2\u20ac\u201d those are the voices in my head.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t waste a minute of your life<\/h2>\n

Today might be your last day on earth. Do you want to waste that time shopping on Amazon and wishing for something you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have? Or do you want to use that precious time to actually use what you have\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and create art given your limited means?<\/p>\n

Do you want to use this short time you have to be angry at your loved one\u00e2\u20ac\u201d or to be appreciative of your spouse, hug them, apologize, kiss them, and go to sleep without any regrets.<\/p>\n

Anger is like poison. We drink the poison and hope that the other person will die.<\/p>\n

Fuck that.<\/p>\n

Make love your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mission. Love for yourself, and love for your fellow humans.<\/p>\n

Whenever I personally criticize someone else; I always remind myself:<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done that before.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Someone cut you off in traffic? Recall the time you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done that to someone else.<\/p>\n

Someone insult you? Remember that one time you talked shit behind a friend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s back?<\/p>\n

Your spouse say something mean to you? Remember the time that you lost patience with them and did the same.<\/p>\n

Nobody is perfect. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not perfect, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not perfect, neither is your neighbor. Your priest, your spiritual leader, whoever isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t perfect. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all flawed.<\/p>\n

A lesson I learned from my buddy Seneca (in his book \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On Anger\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d treat your fellow men as they are yourself. Imagine that all of humankind is one body\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we are the arms, and the others are the legs.<\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s use an example; Cindy and me are one being. We often refer to ourselves as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cinderic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (a word-play on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eric\u00e2\u20ac\u009d). When I yell at Cindy or yell patience at myself, it is like my body\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arms trying to cut off the legs.<\/p>\n

Another analogy; Marcus Aurelius says that we and our partners are like the top and bottom row of teeth. We need to work together to chew the food. Would it make any sense for the top row of teeth to get angry at the bottom row of teeth?<\/p>\n

Remember; we are all on the same team.<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re playing soccer, and your teammate scores a goal\u00e2\u20ac\u201d do you get jealous or angry? No\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on the same team. You are happy and excited.<\/p>\n

Your close friend get more likes\/comments on Facebook on a photo they uploaded? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be jealous\u00e2\u20ac\u201d be happy for them; after all, they may teach you how to make better photos, or how to improve your photos. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re both on the same team.<\/p>\n

You lack nothing.<\/h2>\n

Never forget to count your blessings.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t compare yourself with others, but remember that you started from the bottom, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153now you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Be proud of all your accomplishments. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look up at others who are richer\/more successful than you\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but consider all the people behind you who are probably jealous or envious of your position.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see how you can \u00e2\u20ac\u0153add\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to your life, but what you can subtract.<\/p>\n

Someone insult you? Smile, pardon them\u00e2\u20ac\u201d for they are just mistaken. They want to be loved, just like you.<\/p>\n

Lots of love,
\nEric<\/p>\n

Wed, 1:24pm, Dec 23, 2015<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In American society\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we are always told to buy more shit to take away our misery and dissatisfaction in our lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/R0001152.jpg?fit=1500%2C994&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}