WeddingIQ Retrospective: Real Talk on Motivation, Revisited
(Editor's Note: Today, we continue our monthlong look back at some of our most personal and popular posts of all time. Read on as Kyle reminisces about her July 2015 post, "Real Talk on Motivation: What Keeps Us Going When Life Pulls Us Down?")
When I originally wrote this post in July 2015, I felt very lost. It was five months after my mom had passed from a long struggle with cancer (among other personal and family tragedies), and despite my best effort, I was not where I wanted to be emotionally or professionally. I had the naive notion that I would immediately get back to my life right where it had left off and continue growing my business.
Be sure to check back on Monday for our next WeddingIQ retrospective!he reality was that there were days I couldnβt get out of bed, couldnβt concentrate and had no desire to even be a photographer or business owner. To be honest, the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 are a bit of blur for me, and I have trouble remembering what happened during those months without consulting a calendar. I somehow managed to photograph weddings and events, creating some of the best images of my career. I can only credit that to being completely in the moment and working on raw instinct. I was also able to deliver on my promises to clients, but I had little room for much else.
The result has been a downturn in business because I was unable to market myself with any enthusiasm during that time. I had very little energy left over for networking or re-evaluating my business. No time for vendor lunches, updating my website or any of the other hundreds of things we should be working on to improve our businesses every day. I am only now beginning to return to my normal outgoing, bubbly self. It has taken over a year to feel excited about the future of my business and my life and Iβm still not 100% there. Some of my goals have changed and some ideas have been left behind, but I see glimmers of hope that things will get better - and so far they have.
To anyone struggling right now, my advice is to go at your own pace - donβt pressure yourself to figure it all out tomorrow - and think of all the amazing wonderful things that surround you at this very moment in time. The future will be there for you when youβre ready and itβs whatever you imagine it to be.
Here's my original post where I first revealed my struggle with motivation amidst personal crisis:
Real Talk on Motivation: What Keeps Us Going When Life Pulls Us Down?
