Burn out.

I don’t about you guys, but it’s hard for me to get motivated in these winter months to do anything that isn’t business upkeep. I fight the urge to throw a blanket around my waist, make countless cups of coffee, and organize files and contracts…. My camera sits neatly tucked away in the closet, recovering from months and months of vigorous shutter clicks, and I hunker down- letting my creativity regroup and my love for picture making to return. This is a yearly battle for me and I can usually feel it coming on like a bad cold. A little tickle in my throat manifests itself as a signal for me to clear my calendar of paying jobs. A fever creeps up telling me to get back to basics before the flame fizzles out completely. Usually a few months go by where I contemplate things like going back to school, changing my focus to food and interiors, canceling my facebook account, ya know… life changing things.

And then, the sun comes up whether I like it or not. That shoot I scheduled back before burn out settled in so comfortably arrives and I drag that camera bag out from it’s dark place and hit the ground running.

And then I go, “Oh yeahhhhhhh ….. I love this image-creating thing” and then my clients go, “I can totally see that you love what you do!” and then I go, “I do… I do love what I do!”

I am a big believer in embracing whatever you are feeling whenever you are feeling it. What is life without emotions and what are emotions without permission to feel them? If I am sad, I cry. If I’m pissed off, I throw a pillow real hard…(I know, I’m just not a punch a wall kind of girl.) ..if I’m over-whelmed I let myself break down .. and then I dry the tears, put the pillow back on the bed, and make a to-do list. Sometimes you gotta just embrace that darkness to get to the dawn.

Anyone else have a similar winter pattern? If so, welcome back from burn out!