On Getting Started and Finding Joy
Hi friends,
Some of you know that I recently started a new job— a dream job, really. I go to events and conferences with a fancy camera to take pictures and videos. Then I edit them before they get posted on social media. This past weekend I went to film an event, only to meet another videographer already there.
This is someone I know, and have seen in our office building, and even tried copying his style of creating videos in the past. I asked him once how he got started, and he said someone gifted him a camera when he was 16 and he’s been creating videos ever since. He now has more than 20 years of experience.
The first time I opened a video editing software was two years ago.
At the event, I felt like a phony. I felt like this veteran videographer can see that I’m pretending to be good at what I do, like he can tell that I haven’t earned carrying a $4,000 camera, and that I learned everything from YouTube. Towards the end of the event, and while I’m packing my gear, the veteran videographer came over and told me, “your videos are really good. The only ones that get posted and actually have personality and a sense of story.”
I have never felt so validated about my videos. The only other time I felt similar was when I got accepted to my creative writing program. It’s sort of a social stamp of approval that says, “you’re somewhat good at the thing you’re trying to be good at.”
At the beginnings, of going to the gym, starting a new hobby, or even returning to an old one we feel like we don’t belong. This lack of confidence can literally paralyze us from doing what we’re passionate about. It comes from looking to ourselves through the eyes of those around us— especially those we don’t like.
Here are some helpful ways I have found to overcome that feeling, which is sometimes referred to as imposter syndrome:
- Do more: I have noticed that I don’t gain confidence by journaling, or talking myself into it. But by taking more action, I become more confident, which leads me to do more; it’s a perpetual cycle of doing the thing.
- Show yourself care: If an engineering friend comes to you and shows you a poem they wrote, most likely you will not say, “poetry? You write poetry. Hahah, go back to coding.” Most likely you’ll read the poem, and comment on the good part, or at the very least pretend to like it. But we’re way more critical, and even harsh, towards ourselves in comparison to others.
- There is no such thing as arrival: Creative work doesn’t have a final destination. It’s a continuous journey of expression. The more you create, the more you discover ways to shed light on all the things that make you, you.
So if you’re waiting for external validation, or feel like you’re not good at the thing you’re doing, take a step back and think of your journey. Think about the day you started, today, and where you imagine yourself to be. Enjoy your journey, it’s what makes you unique.
💎 New From Me
This is the latest YouTube video I posted, on 5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Read ONLY Self Help Books.
🔖 Quote I’m pondering
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.”
— Anne Lamott
📸 Through My Lens
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Thank you for reading!
Mohamed