Work.
So what is work? By definition, it is an activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result.
So when did the negative words such as “dreadful” or “sick” or “can’t wait for it to be over” came from? I guess it came from us and our minds. What we think, we become. When we think of work as something we dread doing, naturally we’ll associate work with every possible negativity. I get that feeling sometimes, especially when I have extremely unreasonable and overly demanding requests from clients. Or extremely urgent deadlines to meet. Or when things don’t go my way. It just feel like the world is ganging up against me and I would very much love to throw in the towel anytime.
But, think of it this way. What good would you get if you give up so easily without putting on a good fight? What got you started in this and why did you hang on for so long?
For me, I’d like to see every obstacle as a learning opportunity to grow and develop. Quoting Rae Smith: “Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along.” Yes I have had my fair share of bad days, I get extremely pissed off and angry (you know how scary Scorpios can be, and a scorpio woman at that). The spewing lava from the volcano destroys and yet actually help to fertilise soil too. There’s always a good out of bad, we just have to learn how to see and realise that everything connects to everything else.
So, what is work to me?
The worse negative side of it to me would be – routine. Paperwork does gets boring when the numbers and lifeless words don’t talk to you. We get a lot of emails which are obviously copied and pasted or mass sent to every other vendors (some didn’t even bother to leave out the CCs). When you try to be more personal and actually sit down to type a reply, you get nothing but silent. Your unrequited love was unreciprocated. It wasn’t mutual. How sad is that. Not even a thank you, we’ll look through and get back to you etc. Despite numerous times of follow up, you get nothing. Imagine playing knock knock jokes with your friends and no one replied. -.-“. It’s so quiet I can hear the neighbour from 10 blocks away breathing.
Other than the routine… I’m still happy! I get to visit places which I may not even have the chance to step into in my whole life if I’m in a different line. I get to meet many different people with different colors of personalities, listen to their fascinating stories, get to witness their love and life – friendships & kinships on their wedding day, and also be inspired to see how hard each individual try to step out of their comfort zone to try something they have never done before. A tiny step forward showed a lot of courage, and it is wonderful to witness personal growth or a new milestone achieved in life.
I also enjoy story telling, and what better way than telling stories through the lens? I am not a good photographer because even until today I firmly believe you need the eye to see and to feel, which unfortunately I do not have. You also need the patience and experience to anticipate coming moments. Raymond does it so well. Besides talent, he also put in a lot of hard work to come to where he is today.
Do you see a photographer constantly on the ball to look out for candid moments? Never stopping a second to take a breather or to eat when hungry? Always going the extra mile to arrange people for group photos and table shots just so that the people will look balanced in the photo? Taking control when things could be better instead of standing around waiting for things to happen? Always giving 1000% of everything he can give so that the couple gets nothing but the absolute best?
That’s my partner in crime. When I have a vision or a story to tell, he realise my visions and stories with the use of his photography.
Ask yourself, what keeps you going everyday. What are the things that matters most to you in life? Your parents? Your future? And what can you do to feed that need or hunger.
Never stop dreaming and keep the fire burning.
Love,
Angeline
Website: www.raymondphang.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raymondphangphotography
Instagram: www.instagram.com/raymondphangphotography
Enquiries/Bookings: contactme AT raymondphang DOT com
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