I think it is easy for us as people to confuse who we are with what we do. Since I was a kid I can always remember myself saying that when I grow up I will be this great cinematographer, make all of this money and all of my problems will be solved. There was nothing wrong with me dreaming big like that as a child but what no one told me was that life is much more than the occupation you have. When you think of life you have to remember there are many parts to the word. Life consists of work, happiness, sleep, family, yourself, friends, spirituality and much more. There is no way you can only focus on one area and expect to be successful everywhere else.
As I was growing up and pursuing my dreams devoting all my time to it, there was always this sense of unhappiness lurking in every alone moment I had. The sleepless nights, the stress, the worry, even sometimes guilt. I would always wonder if I was doing the right thing in life. I love the work I do but once the job is done and it is time to go home all I wanted was a drink or some herb to help me get to sleep. I would wonder why am I happy working and not anywhere else?
The answer eventually came to me that I wasn’t happy because I never developed the person who I wanted to be outside of my work life. I thought being a cinematographer was who I was and that the happiness and progress from being successful at that would translate to everywhere else in my life when in fact it actually works the opposite way. Who you are in your personal life has a much greater affect on your career or goals. Especially in an industry such as entertainment. It was the wrong way to think that I could remain undisciplined in one part of my life and continue to grow discipline in the other without hitting some type of ceiling.
The idea I have now, is that because I made a conscious decision to improve my day to day wellbeing I have exponentially grown in my career. I chose to be intentional in keeping up with the family that is willing to keep up with me, I have taken responsibility for all the issues I had with past and current important relationships, I also decided to begin taking care of myself physically and emotionally. These were some of the beginning steps I had to take in order to become the person I am now. I am happy, I am kind, I am blessed, and I am living like the person I want to be. By no means does this mean I have everything I ever wanted in life or I am rich or famous, this just means that I have a career in something that I love doing and the people I love have reason to love me back. So after all of this I guess I just have one question for you.
How ya livin?
