50+ Simple truths to build confidence as a photographer

Are successful photographers always confident

What is it that successful photographers do and have they always been this confident?

It’s not that they have the best gear, have the best knowledge or even the best-paying clients.

It’s the words that they say to themselves on a daily, even hourly basis that boost their confidence enough to make stuff happen.

Recently I started doing hypnotherapy sessions from Marisa Peer, and because of that, I realized how much crap I was telling myself on a daily basis. Things like:
[pullquote align=”left”]’ I’m too tired to work out’. ‘ I don’t like doing that’. ‘ I hate being dependent on …. ‘. ‘ I dislike having to …. ‘. [/pullquote]

Etc. etc.

And I have known for years that the words you say to yourself matter. Big time.

So I always consciously tried to keep negative thoughts to a minimum.

But thanks to the hypno sessions, I realized that was only the top of the iceberg.

Mental chatter is usually not helpful

The mental chatter just never stops.

Only when you meditate, but that’s a whole other topic for another day ;-).

And the mental chatter, for most people including me, is mostly negative.

Or worrisome.

Or fearful.

And that just doesn’t help you. At all.

Because what you say to yourself has an impact.

As I told you before, your brain is an automated goal seeking device. See this blog where I explain that more.

Your brain wants to help you

And so your brain wants to help you get to where it thinks you want to go.

So, if I say ‘I hate work’.

My brain will look for ways to help me. Like getting me sick.

It’s proven that you can change your body based on your thoughts.

Ever seen hypnotherapist ask subjects to eat an imaginary lemon?

And you see their faces make the same expression as if they were actually eating a real lemon?

That’s the power of your thoughts right there. You may even feel the sour lemon sensation just reading about it.

Creating helpful thoughts

Now that you know that it is important to control your thoughts.

Let’s put some helpful ones in place, shall we?

I have found that when I want to change something, for example, work out every day.

I make a list of statements that are true for me.

Some people call statements like these affirmations.

But this is more nuanced. I am not going to say: “I love to work out every day”.

When that is just not true.

That’s not going to help me.

So I’m defining statements like:

‘My body loves to work out every day’.
‘My body loves to move and sweat’.
‘My body loves to drink plenty of water during the day’.
‘I love the feeling that i have after a work out’.
‘I love how accomplished I feel after a great work out’.
‘I love laying in bed after a full day that included a work out’.
‘I love getting better and faster at running’.
‘i love getting more flexible with bodyweight exercises’.
‘I love using my body for what it’s designed for’.
‘I choose to take care of my body’.

And you can go on and on.

Repeat and focus to make it natural

I regularly check the list and the sentences, the truths, become cemented in my mind.

Most of them are like second nature to me now.

And as a result, I work out most of the days now.

It’s not a matter of discipline so much, it’s becoming more something that I am.

I am a person who works out regularly.

Would you like to change your life, piece by piece, without discipline?

If you feel like your photography work or business is not performing like you want it to,

You can draw up your list for that and review it every day.

Helpful thoughts to grow your photography business

Like:
Personal truths to make SEO & Blogging effortless & fun
I love my job and I’m amazing at it.
I love my job and I’m phenomenal at it.
I am choosing to share my work on my blog.
I am choosing to feel great about sharing my work online.
I am choosing to be successful.
I am choosing to share the images that tell a story in my own creative fashion.
It makes me happy.
It makes me feel good when I can share this blog with the world.
It feels good to be open to my readers about my life.
Looking at all those stories on my blog makes me feel accomplished.
Knowing that when I only helped one person with my personal stories will make me feel fulfilled.
Seeing my ranking for a keyword increase will make me feel accomplished.
I am choosing to share my thoughts online.
I am choosing to write about my work so that people can find me online.
I am choosing to feel great about that.

Make sure that whatever you put on your list is your truth.

And then, be consistent about it. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

You have no idea how many times we unconsciously think thoughts that are not helping us.

In order to reverse that, you have to focus.

I have written up some more truths for photographers. If you think that can help you, feel free to download them in one handy pdf.

In the pdf is included:
Truths to make SEO & Blogging effortless & fun
Truths to make Vendor marketing effortless & fun
Truths to make getting published effortless & fun
Truths to make interacting with your clients during a shoot effortless & fun

Stick to one subject and finetune your own list. Keep it as a screensaver or note on your phone so you will see it regularly.

Let me know what happens and please share this article with your friends who you think could benefit from it!