New year resolutions have become the subject of many jokes and are almost a euphemism for a failed endeavour. How many diets, exercise regimes and 'new me' projects , are started in the post alcoholic glow of the new year, only to flicker and die into cold ash by the middle of January?
Far better to fall into the deeper rhythms of the year and take the winter solstice as cue to start a new project. The Solstice marks the turning of the year, the shortest day and the longest night, the deepest and darkest time of the year, everyday after the solstice is a day on the climb up to the heat and light of high summer.
Starting at the solstice also gives some time to get into the rhythm for the project before the new year hits, with all its distractions.
These ten days get you through the death zone for a project when the first rush of excitement is over and the realisation of exactly what has been taken on starts to become obvious, push through these days and the rhythms start to become embedded and what looks like an impossible task becomes more manageable.
It also helps to set realistic goals for any project. Far better to go for three times a week rather than every day.
Set the target as 'every day' and the first time you miss a deadline then you have failed. Set the target as three of four times a week and the odd missed day has not poisoned the project.
In the past I have done time limited projects with differing degrees of success. My picture a day between the spring and autumn equinox on Pbase was a success while others on Instagram have run for a time and then faltered as the inspiration fades or self set limits became inhibiting.
The new aim for this blog will be for three posts a week. With a mix of new images, old images and more wordy posts with stories from my time working as a commercial photographer.
I am not setting a time limit on how long it will last but my hope is to have a long run at this post rate.
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