Smart goals for 2022

Do you have any photographic goals for 2022? Goals are an admirable and desirable thing to do, but it needs to be backed up, it needs to be achievable.

There are a few acronyms around to help sort out where to start; SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time.

• In other words, be specific of WHAT your goal is, and divine what success looks like

• It needs to be measurable, to show progress, stay motivated and be able to evaluate

• It needs to be attainable, small gains are better than something impossible

• Make sure it is actually relevant to your core goals and beliefs

• Set a realistic time frame to achieve results

There are other acronyms such as HARD – Heartfelt, Animated, Required, Difficult. The thought being if it is difficult the rewards are more satisfying and enthusiastic.

Ultimately it boils down to WHAT you WANT. So what are some goals you could set yourself for 2022?

• Learn a new technique

• Learn a new genre

• Actually learn your camera or read the manual

• Join a local photographic group (or an online one)

• Read a book or two

• Find & follow 5 new and inspirational people on YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram etc.

• Really dig deep into editing or lighting or something else

• Do you have a lens you never use? Stick it on your camera and leave it there

• Do a 365 challenge (it doesn’t have to start Jan 1st)

• Do a 52 week challenge (if 365 seems daunting)

• Do a 12 month challenge (as in create something once a month)

• Dive deep into journaling (next month I have some tips and ideas on journaling too)

It doesn’t really matter WHAT your goal is, just set a few, even start with just one. Don’t overwhelm yourself and pick ten then drop all of them after a month. Do one, then another, then another. Even if your goal only takes a weekend to complete…that’s great. Then you can set another.

A little spark of joy wrote a article on 30 Powerful Manifestation Mantras you might find interesting