{"id":30066,"date":"2016-08-25T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=30066"},"modified":"2016-08-16T16:55:53","modified_gmt":"2016-08-16T23:55:53","slug":"overcoming-the-fear-of-what-if","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/25\/overcoming-the-fear-of-what-if\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming The Fear of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What If?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Santa
Santa Cruz, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m about to move to Vietnam for the next 1.5 years, and France for 6 months\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking about what to bring and what not<\/em> to bring for my trip. I know in my heart that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need much, I can pack light, and be happy. But still\u00e2\u20ac\u201d there is that gnawing fear of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what if?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which is holding me back.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I think consumerism is all about instilling fear into the consumer. The fear that if we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have product \u00e2\u20ac\u0153X\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwe will somehow be missing out or disadvantaged.<\/p>\n

Camera companies do this all the time. They make us feel that if we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the newest camera, with the newest sensor, and the newest lens\u00e2\u20ac\u201d somehow we won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be able to reach our creative potential. Or somehow we will miss the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153decisive moment.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That we won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be taken seriously by other photographers.<\/p>\n

This is why we are addicted to social media. We have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153FOMO<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (fear of missing out). We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re afraid that if we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t upload a photograph every single day, we will be forgotten.<\/p>\n

This is why we check our email hundreds of times a day. We are fearful that we will miss out on an important message that can be a life\/death situation.<\/p>\n

Taming the beast<\/h2>\n

I succumb to fear all the time. I feel that fear is what holds me back from doing what I truly want to do.<\/p>\n

Fear is what forces me to follow societal norms, and not to follow my own heart.<\/p>\n

I am quite excited to live abroad for 2 years\u00e2\u20ac\u201d because it will really test me in terms of how little I \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in life. Furthermore, I want to experiment and see if by having fewer things, I will have fewer burdens and stresses, and therefore be happier, more productive, and more creative.<\/p>\n

Packing to live abroad for 2 years<\/h2>\n
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think trying to figure out what to bring\/what not to bring to Vietnam is figuring out what is necessary vs what is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nice to have.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

For me, a laptop is necessary because it is how I do my writing and work. A camera is necessary to make images.<\/p>\n

Other random gadgets (iPad\/Kindle) are nice to have\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but not necessary. Nowadays I read most of my books on my smartphone on the Kindle app. Sure it might be more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153efficient\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or preferable to use an iPad or a Kindle\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but more gadgets means more stuff to charge, and more stress.<\/p>\n

In terms of clothing, I am trying to eliminate variations. 3 black v-neck UNIQLO airism shirts (super quick dry, breathable, and easy to wear with everything). 3 pairs of ExOfficio boxers (also black, easy to wash in the sink, and comfortable). A pair of shorts, and some dress pants for church. A pair of Nike running shoes, and some sandals. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if I \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d anything more than that.<\/p>\n

One thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking a lot about is whether I should shoot film or digital during my time abroad. I love film, but I have nowadays been preferring shooting digital with JPEG \u00e2\u20ac\u201d less stress of processing images, and more fun just enjoying the shooting experience. I also love the idea of just keeping it simple with the Ricoh GR II \u00e2\u20ac\u201d or maybe even picking up another Fujifilm camera somewhere on the road (I love the JPEG images from the Fuji sensor).<\/p>\n

Also for the first two weeks in Vietnam, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re staying in a 4-star hotel in Hanoi for only $13 a night! Initially Cindy and I were going to find an apartment to live in\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but the price of living in a hotel is probably the same of living in a serviced apartment.<\/p>\n

I like the idea of living in a hotel\u00e2\u20ac\u201d free buffet breakfast everyday (no need to cook at home), laundry and sheets are cleaned\u00e2\u20ac\u201d which means little\/no domestic chores. Which means more time to write, reflect, meditate, shoot, and do creative work. My only fear is that I love this hotel lifestyle so much that I will never want to move back to America.<\/p>\n

Our plan is the first 8 months in Hanoi, then the next 6 months in Saigon. Hanoi is a lot more quiet, relaxed, and meditative than Saigon (crazy busy city). However I had a lot harder time finding wifi and good coffee in Hanoi compared to Saigon. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll manage.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also been having a ton of fun making videos for YouTube<\/a> lately. I plan on also bringing the GoPro to do more POV videos, interviews, and perhaps daily \u00e2\u20ac\u0153vlogs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of life in Vietnam (inspired by my buddy Todd).<\/p>\n

What am I going to miss?<\/h2>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to miss America, but I am going to miss my friends and family. Also rather than \u00e2\u20ac\u0153missing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a place\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I think it is being appreciative of our past experience, but not looking back or having any regrets. The only way forward in life is to not look back, and keep marching.<\/p>\n

They say the only constant thing in life is change. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m excited for my new change in life, slightly afraid, but overall pumped up.<\/p>\n

Eliminate the fears of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what if\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in your life<\/h2>\n
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I will try my best to follow my own advice and pack light, and not worry about the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what if?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d situations of life.<\/p>\n

How can you extrapolate this idea in your life? If you eliminated fear from your life, and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what if\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d how much more of your creative potential could you fulfill?<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do some more thinking about conquering the fear in my personal life, and continuing to share some thoughts about my experiences traveling abroad, and living a minimalist lifestyle\u00e2\u20ac\u201d with maximum creative output.<\/p>\n

Always,
\nEric<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m about to move to Vietnam for the next 1.5 years, and France for 6 months\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking about what to bring and what not to bring for my trip. I know \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_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-30066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30066","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=30066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30066\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}