week forty-eight — growth

every so often, i take a break from posting my own shots for the photo of the week and invite my friends to post theirs instead. seeing others’ shots and hearing how they think about photography always gives me another perspective, which is part of what this photo of the week thing is all about…

enjoy this week’s post and commentary by my friend Karissa Brodhagen. her thoughts on achieving goals are especially timely for all the fellow actuaries out there gearing up for exams next week…

Wow, I must say it is a huge honor to be a part of Kyle’s blog.  His photos are so inspirational and make me want to get out more to capture the true beauty that tucks away in our peripherals every day.

I chose to post a picture of this lanky tree, partly because it’s one of few pictures I’ve taken in the last several months, but also because it represents growth — a recent focal point of mine.  I’ve realized that we as people are really good at setting goals, but we don’t reach our true potential if we don’t put in the effort.  For instance, I like to think that I have a keen eye for photography, but I rarely pull out my camera, so I have yet to reach my potential.  Our abilities will never be witnessed by the world (or ourselves for that matter) until we pull ourselves away from the usual distractions that consume our lives.  We can apply this “application of effort” concept to basically every facet of our lives — career, fitness, sports, relationship building, hobbies such as photography (of course), and the list goes on.  If you want to achieve your goals, it really comes down to exerting the effort.