Articles : Tutorials - Digital

Don't make it harder than it has to be

How fear really messes with your mojo

Last year I came across three panoramic pictures of my older sister that I had always really liked. I decided they needed to be in a scrapbook, and arranged them with removable tape on two blank pieces of paper. I do this a lot with my paper scrapping -- get the pictures sorted and layout-ready, then when I'm inspired I grab something from the pile.

This set of pictures sat there literally for over a year, because every time I pulled them out to work on that layout, nothing stupendous hit me. The more time that passed and I hadn't worked on the layout, the more stressed I got about it. Eventually all of the other pages in the "layouts to make stack" had been completed, and there sat those three pictures of Mary, mocking me.

I was convinced that I could make a great layout with these pictures. I just needed to wait until inspiration hit. Maybe I needed to try harder. Maybe I needed to wait another year.

One night after giving up on the layout yet again, I was reminded of something stupid I did 10 years ago.

In high school I had the chance to take Advanced Grammar with an amazing teacher.   And even though I KNEW I loved to write, and even though I KNEW I needed a ton of help with my writing and my understanding of the English language, I didn't sign up.

Why didn't I take that class? Because I wasn't sure I could get an A in it, and I didn't want to hurt my GPA.

I had avoided what would have been a great experience because I was afraid I wouldn't succeed. I was afraid of being average, so I played it safe and didn't play at all. That is my biggest regret from high school. I regret not taking that class more than I regret the jerky senior I dated my entire freshman year. (And THAT, I REALLY regret.)

Fear will hold you back if you let it. Fear of failure. Fear of being average. Fear of being overwhelmed.

After wanting a Photoshop program for over a year, I didn't install it for two months when I finally got it.  The disk sat on my desk, just waiting for me to take it out and pop it in my computer. With each day that I looked at the disk sitting there, my anxiety about Photoshop got a little worse: would it be too much for me to handle? Would I be unable to figure it out? Would it be a big waste of money?

Finally, I sucked it up and checked out some books from the library. Slowly -- seriously, VERY slowly -- it started making sense. And not only was I finally able to edit my photos in a way I'd been dreaming of since I got my digital camera, but the world of digital scrapbooking was opened up for me. Five months later I was able to start writing tutorials for a new website I was working on, with the goal of making Photoshop instantly accessible to people like me who get a little overwhelmed.   (Digi-Scrappin' with Jen.)

But what's sad is, I still haven't conquered my fear of Photoshop. I have completely mastered the basic, beginner functions in Photoshop, but I haven't stepped beyond that. I've been working in Photoshop for over two years now, and I am still clueless about brushes, layer masks, actions, and all sorts of cool techniques that are standard for most digi-scrappers. And there are plenty of tutorials online that could help me understand them . . . but here I sit once again, too overwhelmed to jump in and learn. I guess that's my next project to work on.

So back to that layout about my sister. I realized that I was caught in a pretty STUPID way of thinking -- that if I couldn't make a page beyond amazing, every single page a stand-out, it was better to just not make it at all.

If I held to that thinking every time I sat down to work, my scrapbooks would be next to empty.

Looking at those pictures of my sister, I realized -- as I've realized before -- that not every page has to be great. Not every page has to be jaw-dropping, put it in the stack to save for the next Hall of Fame entry awesome. Really, it doesn't have to be anything. It's just papers and photos, people. How complicated should this really be? Maybe some memories just need a piece of paper and some journaling -- no techniques, no fancy anything.

And when it really came down to it, the important thing about these photos wasn't the papers or embellishments or techniques -- it was a story I realized that I had to tell about my sister.  A story that I didn't even know was in me.  And that's worth far more than perfection.

P.S.  the journaling says:  With as little as Mary and I have in common, and seeing as how we really don't get along at all, you'd be surprized to learn that we're family at all -- much less sisters, just two years apart.  We have drastically different personalities and perceptions about life and priorities about what's important.  Still, though, you have to admire her no-roots, globe-trotting ways.  She's been to more places than most people dream about -- New Zeland, Australia, Europe, South America . . . not to mention her regular job in an Alaska tourist town and those 3 years she spent in Yellowstone Park.  She loves the outdoors and exploring and experiencing nature -- and she's living the dream.  That's pretty cool.  These pics: Yellowstone Park, 1997

About the author ...
Jen Strange is mama to Jake, a full-time secretary, part-time piano teacher, and obsessive scrapbooker (since her son's birth in 2002.) An avid blogger since 2004, her DigiScrappin' with Jen blog serves as an introduction to digital scrapbooking, while her Stop Piracy blog is a centralized spot for learning about and fighting the piracy of digital scrapbook kits and designs. Jen has been digitally scrapbooking since April 2005; find Jen at www.jenstrange.com and Layouts by the Numbers

Submitted by strangejen