It is time for a fresh start, right? Mentally  we have swept clear any debris or frustrations of the previous year and are now sitting, perched at the edge of opportunity and fulfillment, with a clear plan to make it happen, fuelled by the expectation of what will be. This will be the year when I….

And yet, somehow things just aren’t quite going to plan, are they. The new year resolutions to learn a new language by just doing 30 minutes a day, or to get out and exercise regularly, or take a photo a day, have already fallen by the wayside. And if this is something that feels familiar, then the good news is that you are not alone.

I was touched by the honesty and openness that both Sabrina Henry and David duChemin shared on their recent posts about a workshop  in Kenya that David was leading. Sabrina, with the usual excitement that an expensive workshop in a stunning location with a great mentor  brings, was full of expectations. David on the other hand had amazing wildlife shots in his mental tick list of what the workshop would provide. But as their respective blogs will tell you, their expectations were dashed. They returned home, comparatively empty handed, frustrated by missed opportunity. For those of you that follow either of them, it will come as no surprise that both looked within themselves, found a positive message to take from this, and have refocused their energies accordingly.

For me, it was a recent trip with a buddy, Glenn Carter, around Singapore, and a visit to a local mosque. I had the image in my mind, found the shot, but the result (shown here) just wasn’t quite there. Not sharp enough, not blurred enough, not the right angle. Who knows.

But for most of us that that weight of expectation, when unchecked, can lead to despondency and frustration that is not always channelled so positively. Sure there are mitigating circumstances that we use to justify this to ourselves. “I just had to finish that project from last year before I could…” or “I didn’t have the right lens with me…” or “The worse weather in 100 years made it impossible for me to get out…” But subconsciously you know that the way out is something that you have to make happen, that you have to find. The grey funk that was lurking subconsciously at the back of your mind, is beginning to move into the conscious. You are frustrated. That weight of expectation about going to a new place, getting that iconic shot, losing that weight, learning that language is something that you are beginning to dwell on. And that makes you tense or inhibits the creativity that is so much of who you are, and so much of what your images reflect.

Well the good news is that you are not alone, and this has nothing really to do with you per se.

There  is an annual phenomenon that is caused by trying to cram so much into the end of the final weeks or months of the previous year, together with the pressure and expectation about having happy holidays with the family, that we are creatively exhausted. Now I am not a psycologist, but I do know that this is not a phenomenon restricted to creative types. In fact it is often worse in creative types because the very self awareness and self-criticism that fuels that creativity also has a dark side.

You have only to look at the financial markets to realise that this is something that happens to the rational left-side  brain people too (although given recent world issues caused by that talent pool,  perhaps we should not focus on swimming in their shallow end too long).

Every January the stock market dives. Sure enough this January  the markets have gone down , attributable to Obama statements but also historically this is the worst week of the year. To put it plainly people are tired , they have been pushing up to Christmas and also in an effort to set the tone for the year. Last year markets went down 6% on average this week and increased by 25% over the year. This pattern is repeated over the decades.

So don’t be worried. If your creativity feels a little slow to emerge in this new decade, if that expensive workshop occurs and you are not in the groove, then fret not. Find something that brings a smile to your face. Maybe put the camera down and spend time with the subject of the workshop or assignment rather than behind the lens. Whatever it is, have fun and remember others out there are feeling it too.