PPMT President’s Message-March, 2017
Spring forward…Spring into action
By Donna M. Butler, PPMT President
The “busy” ness of the holidays are behind us and we have settled into 2017. A new year, a new start.
The early spring we have experienced here has been really nice (unless we didn’t get enough cold to kill off all the bugs coming in Summer; but, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it). I must say, I have enjoyed the pleasant temperatures and early spring-like weather. Spring gives us a renewed energy, a forward-looking hope, a little pep in our step. Springtime refers to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. Spring brings transformation and change; from darkness to light, from cold to warmth, from grey to bursts of color. We see the signs of new growth and opportunity. As long, dark nights turn to lighter, longer days, new life emerges in the warmth and we look forward to bright and beautiful colors in our lives. There’s a bustling in our neighborhoods which seemed eerily quiet…and suddenly there are people where there used to only be lonely sidewalks.
But, we often get severe weather in the Spring in Tennessee. Spring brings struggle. The force of nature can be sheer terror and uncertainty. Just this morning, a powerful, angry storm and sheer winds wreaked havoc throughout my neighborhood peeling siding off effortlessly, toppling 6 ft. wooden fences, leveling patio furniture, backyard sheds and gas grills to nothing and propelling roof shingles through the air like Frisbees. Unstable weather is caused by the changing orientation of the earth’s axis relative to the Sun when warm air begins to creep in from lower latitudes, while cold air is still pushing from the Polar regions. Life can be a lot like Spring in Middle Tennessee. The storms of life come upon us suddenly and it sometimes feels overwhelming and daunting. It’s inconvenient and challenging to deal with the aftermath of storms. We just don’t have the time or energy…or extra resources. We get frustrated and lose heart. But, we don’t give up. We keep moving forward. The storms pass and we recover. We bounce back and resume life as we know it and we don’t remain in any one season or cycle in life indefinitely. Perhaps we learn something along the way. And, in the process, we realize we are more resilient than we thought. We are resourceful. Yes, sometimes we need help. That’s what friends and family are for and that’s what PPMT is all about. We are a group of like-minded artists and regular people here to support and encourage each other. We know what you’re going through and want to help in any way we can. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it and don’t forget to pay it forward when you get the chance.
Facing the storms in life with a confident hope that warmer, brighter days are ahead gives us the courage to persist through the hardships and motivates us to work toward the next season ahead. The promise of green buds after a season of difficulty and hard work propel us forward. Spring inspires us to feel hopeful about starting anew, doing something different, making a change, trying again, overcoming, reevaluating, persisting, and believing something awesome and colorful is ahead. We want to clean out the accumulation of months past, tackle those projects on the to do list we eagerly created the first of the year and change for the better.
What challenges will you overcome and what new growth will you focus on this Spring? It starts with your mindset and attitude, and then carries over in your work ethic, your actions and your choices. Understand that transformation is not easy and storms in life will come. You must be prepared for unexpected events and adapt as life dictates. And, it’s not all or nothing…life ebbs and flows just as seasons do. Spring is a great time to evaluate your choices so far, learn from any setbacks and revise your plan as needed. What worked, what didn’t? Write it down. Create a plan. What did you learn and what will you do differently in the weeks and months to come?
Entrepreneurship is an adventure, a journey, and like any great story, it has peaks and valleys. It also has great rewards. There will be good days as well as bad days. Some of the days will have you feeling like you’re defeated and other days, on top of the world, but press on, adjust and innovate. If you don’t innovate, you will die in a sea of competition. When you do have those bad days, don’t lose hope. Don’t give up. In just a few weeks, you’ll be weeding your newly planted garden and anticipating the harvest. It’s not always easy. It’s hard work but remember your “why”…why you do what you do. Believe in yourself! Take one day at a time, one step at a time. Keep moving forward, put in the work and keep growing. Do something every single day to improve yourself and your business. Do what you can, in faith and confidence, that wherever the journey leads you, it will be for your greatest good. At the end of the day, success is up to you. You can choose to accept things the way they are, or you can “Spring forward and spring into action”. It’s your choice.
Donna M. Butler, President
The Professional Photographers of Middle Tennessee
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