So, lately I have been trying, once again, to spend less time doom scrolling on socials and more time investing in my life and the kind of person I am. One of the ways I have been doing this is by finally working through my reading list. Coincidentally, it is a list that was heavily influenced by an Instagram post I once saw… but, oh well, I’m a work in progress. The book I am working on currently is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey. Granted, I am only on the first habit (Be Proactive), so afford me some grace if you think I have missed the greater points of his book, but there was one section that really resonated with me and I wanted to share.
On page 103 of the 30th anniversary edition of the book, Covey’s son Sean references the work of Angela Duckworth, who wrote Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. In her research, one of the character traits that she found to be a significant predictor of success was… grit. Covey calls it resourcefulness and initiative, and Sean even says that “gritty” is one of the key characteristics that he has looked for when hiring people in his role as an executive. The aspect of this grit that Covey regards so highly, that really struck me, was perseverance.
Honestly, perseverance isn’t a trait that I ever thought I had. Now, I have other strengths. For example, I learn new tasks pretty quickly, you can show me how to do something once or twice and then I will be able to do it alone and grow in proficiency in a short amount of time. It is part of the reason why I have dabbled in so many different hobbies (Crochet, Woodcarving, Upholstery, Cooking, Photography, Cross-Stitch, Sewing, Embroidery… the list goes on). But, since I tend to pick things up quickly, when I do struggle to learn something new, I tend to give up on it just as fast. So perseverance, the ability to press on in the face of opposition, to continue expelling effort in the absence of immediate success, isn’t a skill I ever really grew.
And that thought, the idea that perseverance is a skill that is developed, not some innate trait that people are born with, is what I found so convicting and so inspiring.
This perseverance epiphany came at just the right time too. As you may recall from my A is for Astrophotography post, I went to go shoot the Solar Eclipse back in October last year. I was so excited! I researched the filters I would need, I scouted locations via Google Earth, I had this whole board of inspo shots that I wanted to try and emulate. And October 14th was a long day for me, I was awake for 22 hours, drove for over 11 hours, and took over 220 photos in an attempt to capture this perfect image I had formed in my mind’s eye. Later I went home, loaded everything into Lightroom and got to work editing… and almost immediately became discouraged.
What I thought was going to be a quick little HDR merge edit, was actually a multi-month lesson in Photoshop, expectation management, and perseverance. I was so frustrated. So much so in fact, that I ended up never sharing my final image from that day. And then, when January rolled around I had to decide whether or not to prioritize going to the total eclipse in Texas this year, I almost didn’t go. I was weighing out the costs: the time off, the hotel, the miles on my car (because price of flights were ridiculous), and with my big trip to South Korea this fall, I wasn’t sure it would be justified, especially if I didn’t succeed in capturing a photo I was proud of, yet again.
Thankfully, I caught myself on that little downward spiral of doubt and insisted on showing up for myself. I have wanted to capture an eclipse photo since I first saw a total eclipse back in 2017, and the next total eclipse in the contiguous United States isn’t until 2044! **Sure, there is one in Australia in 2028, but if I find a trip from Colorado to Texas expensive, where do you think a flight to Australia sits on my “justifiable costs” scale?** Needless to say, this was going to be my last opportunity for a while and I wanted to at least give it another try.
Also, my failed attempt in 2023 taught me some valuable lessons:
- There is a significant difference between an Annular Eclipse and a Total Eclipse1.
- Capturing the eclipse with something in the foreground is way more difficult than taking a photo of just the eclipse.
- It is okay to start small when you are first learning something new (I know, should be obvious).
Ultimately, I am really glad that I persisted in my endeavor to photograph an eclipse, because this time around I am pretty proud of the results (checkout the photo gallery below). It also encouraged me that if I keep working at it, I can see results in other aspects of my life that I had previously given up on. Things like getting to a healthy weight, or working in a different career field. So, I look forward to growing my ability to persevere and sharing the process with you all along the way.
Sojourn Nation 