Take it back. Way back. Linky.

Sometimes I feel discouraged with my progress in photography, writing, exercise goals, you name it. I beat myself up over everything. Usually I catch myself and will myself to stop. It's pointless. Progress doesn't stem from discouragement. It requires work and time. Time and work.

Whenever I'm feeling down about my something I'm passionate about I force myself to look back. I look at the strides I've made and how far I've come. Even if it's nothing more than baby steps seeing *some* progress helps. The time and effort I put in has paid off.

I thought creating a little linky party would encourage me (and hopefully others) to turn those negative thoughts into something more constructive. Posting and examining my old work & comparing to my current (hopefully more improved) work on my blog will serve as motivation for those days I just want to quit everything. I can't be the only one who goes through this.

Here's my memory. Preston at the park on 8.11.11. This shot is one of my favorites but if I were taking it today I'd do things differently. I'd back up so his head and elbow weren't chopped off, I wouldn't have processed the photo with that action, and I would have moved him away from the playground structure (or moved my body).

Those technical flaws don't make me love the photo any less. I love his big eyes and the huge smile on his face BUT it feels great to know that I have learned something.

I know better than to chop mindlessly, am pretty careful to avoid distracting backgrounds, and work on mindful post processing and not blindly running actions.

Now it's your turn.

Dust off your archives. Look back a year. Link up a photo, blog post, or whatever you'd like. Let's celebrate each other's progress and cheer each other on.

Grab the button below (right click and copy the image link or save to your desktop) & add your memory to the linky.

I can't wait to see what you've got.