We live in a “Gizmo” society. We are bombarded with messages that if we only had a specific gizmo, we’d have the world on a string.

The mentality and marketing is pervasive. What golfer hasn’t bought a new club expecting it to improve his or her game? I can’t tell you the amount of money I’ve spent on photography gear over the years. The hope was that this equipment would make me the next Francesco Scavullo or Ansel Adams. Truth be told, the person at Wal-Mart, shaking the bunny and taking pictures of your children, is more proficient than me.

Reminds me of a story . . .

I remember when my kids were younger and they would ask me for more expensive gizmos, offering up the logic that it would make them better. We lived near a rundown school where an NBA Basketball player had attended. The court at the school was a patchwork quilt of uneven asphalt pieces. I said, “If Ernie “D” could learn to play basketball on that court, you can learn to be better with the current equipment you have.”

A new gizmo will not make you better. It’s always how well you use a gizmo that gets you results.

We have this notion that what we need is outside of ourselves. That’s misplaced credit.

Reminds me of another story . . .

My late mentor, Dr. Dave Dobson, a legendary hypnotherapist, would say, “Everyone is their own best therapist.” He would point out that people would give him credit for the changes they had made never knowing it was them who actually made the change. His claim was that he provided the environment where that change could happen. People giving him credit was misplaced credit. This ability was always within them, yet they ascribed all the accolades to him.

I have a friend who is a “Perpetual Student.” His underlying belief is that he always needs “one more class.” This is one of the most knowledgeable people I know but he has a severe case of “Misplaced Credit.” He thinks the missing piece is out there somewhere. It’s not.

I’m all for seeking help and taking classes; those practices open our eyes and hone our skills. Where the logic falls apart is when we believe that it’s the outside force that will make us better. It isn’t. And when we don’t get the results we want, we go seeking another class or teacher.

Rarely do we just work with what we already have. We don’t give ourselves enough credit. We’re too busy misplacing it.

I don’t think I’m going to stop buying photography equipment anytime soon, but I do know this: I have all the equipment I need right now to develop what I want. I just have to make the time to get more familiar with my current equipment to get picture perfect results.

All the best,

John

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