Not so much a resolution as a thought
Jan. 1st, 2003 12:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tugrikIt occurred to me last night that I'm developing (or probably already have) the "jack of all trades, master of none" problem. While this isn't essentially a problem, it does leave me a bit unsatisfied at times. I like being really good at a lot of things, but it'd be nice to be respected as an expert of one or two of 'em.
To respond to this, I think I'll spend this year trying to focus a bit. I'm not exactly sure how best to do this, but I have a few ideas. The primary one would be to start dropping the level of detail spent on things that I don't want to focus on and simplify things -- thereby allowing more resources (money, time, mental bandwidth) for the ones that I really want to get better at. I just need to pick which ones to go for.
Do I drop one of the motorcycles and save a bunch of money in the process, to allow me to get deeper into photography? I'd love to spend a little on astrophotography equipment and finally get to work on that part of my long-ago photo goals. Or, do I sell off the buku-pricey photo gear until I just have One Camera and One Lens? Not only would this free up funding for other things, but it would force me to go back to the basics and work on what's far more important than the equipment: composition, lighting, technique. I'm not terribly satisfied with most of my pictures, and the nasty habit of throwing equipment at the problem is far from the right solution.
This last little piece is one I'm going to have to think a lot harder about. Of the hobbies/skills I'm working on -- which ones are things I'm doing because I want to do them and which ones are simply things that I hope get me noticed/popular with others? I'd like to believe that most of what I do is because I love to do it -- not because I want to show off or get people to like me. That little nagging feeling shows up now and then. Do I do portrait-work at cons becuase I hope someone finds me useful... or because I want to practice my skills and enjoy the work? That kind of thing.
So it's a thoughtful 2K3, rung in to the sounds of bad techno and much better trance. I'm going to get some hunting done for a late brunch and then clean up the room a little, in hopes of finding things I keep meaning to search for and never quite get around to. It's a good analogy for how I want to spend the year: cleaning up the life a bit in hopes of finding passions with depth and important things I keep meaning to search for and never quite do.
To respond to this, I think I'll spend this year trying to focus a bit. I'm not exactly sure how best to do this, but I have a few ideas. The primary one would be to start dropping the level of detail spent on things that I don't want to focus on and simplify things -- thereby allowing more resources (money, time, mental bandwidth) for the ones that I really want to get better at. I just need to pick which ones to go for.
Do I drop one of the motorcycles and save a bunch of money in the process, to allow me to get deeper into photography? I'd love to spend a little on astrophotography equipment and finally get to work on that part of my long-ago photo goals. Or, do I sell off the buku-pricey photo gear until I just have One Camera and One Lens? Not only would this free up funding for other things, but it would force me to go back to the basics and work on what's far more important than the equipment: composition, lighting, technique. I'm not terribly satisfied with most of my pictures, and the nasty habit of throwing equipment at the problem is far from the right solution.
This last little piece is one I'm going to have to think a lot harder about. Of the hobbies/skills I'm working on -- which ones are things I'm doing because I want to do them and which ones are simply things that I hope get me noticed/popular with others? I'd like to believe that most of what I do is because I love to do it -- not because I want to show off or get people to like me. That little nagging feeling shows up now and then. Do I do portrait-work at cons becuase I hope someone finds me useful... or because I want to practice my skills and enjoy the work? That kind of thing.
So it's a thoughtful 2K3, rung in to the sounds of bad techno and much better trance. I'm going to get some hunting done for a late brunch and then clean up the room a little, in hopes of finding things I keep meaning to search for and never quite get around to. It's a good analogy for how I want to spend the year: cleaning up the life a bit in hopes of finding passions with depth and important things I keep meaning to search for and never quite do.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-01-02 11:21 am (UTC)Yes, you do raise a little extra spending cash up front, but nothing's worse than trying to rebuy something and then finding the little incompatibilities render the rest of your gear unusable.
I'd suggest you pick one hobby for the quarter, and channel all your spare cash into that one hobby, with a Do Not Switch resolution that must last 'til the end of the quarter. (Pick the most expensive one for the quarter with the tax refund if you can't decide.)
-Traveller, a pack rat who owns: a PS/2 Model 70 (20 Mhz! Woo hoo!), a SyQuest EZDrive, a Newton 2000, and a SCSI scanner.