Moving Past Your Mistakes

Today I lost everything... or what I thought was everything for a few seconds until I realized that what I have lost is nothing compared to what others have lost or don't have.
I made a very stupid mistake, I didn’t back up my hard drive with thousands of images from clients shoots from the last few months as well as my own shoots, family photos & months worth of retouched images. It cost me thousands to attempt to recover the files – but had no luck. I now have to refund the last few clients for the images that I cannot provide which they have already paid for! My stupid mistake has set me back around $10 000 in monetary value & I have lost a lot of sentimental photos!
Yep, I felt like a complete idiot, felt sorry for myself, & bawled my eyes out, shouted into the phone to my partner Declan that I give up on life, told him I’m selling all my camera equipment & never want anything to do with it or a computer ever again… along with a few swear words thrown in of course! Hey I am only human!

Then I reminded myself of what I constantly preach every day which is; to appreciate what you DO have & stop worrying about what you don't & don’t waste time & effort worrying about the things you can't change!

Isn't it funny that something so minuscule can have the potential to destroy your world! While there are people out there who only wish for enough food to survive yet there I was suffering a serious case of self pity! What for???  I have it good! I have my health, I have the skills to make more money, I can take more photos, I have the self-belief & dedication to achieve anything I want in life. I have an amazing man who loves & supports me no matter what, I have a loving family, beautiful friends, a house to live in & SO much more! What do I really have to worry about? NOTHING!

It really puts things into perspective when you take a look around at what other people don’t have & yet they still manage to be happy! I'm not saying that just because there are other people out there who are going through a lot worse than you means that your problems are irrelevant, but putting things into perspective definitely helps you to get through them!

It’s easy to get caught up with constantly pushing for more in life - nothing ever seems to be good enough! You forget to appreciate the things you do have…until one day you may not have them anymore!

Some of the lessons I learnt or revised this weekend are;

1. Back up your work!!! Never rely on computers!

2. Have more structure in your life & business – prioritize & have an order!

3. Don’t take on so much work in attempt to please everyone that you actually lose the quality of your work &  potentially risk losing everything!
I made a massive effort about a year ago to stop being a people pleaser, I have made a lot of changes & I am no longer a doormat BUT I am human & I do stuff up & sometimes feel myself slipping backwards to the person I used to be.

4. Learn from your mistakes! Make a conscious effort to not make the same mistakes again! Sometimes the only way to learn is the hard way!

5. Work smarter not harder!

6. Stop being so hard on yourself, accept that you’re not perfect! Stop pushing for perfection – it doesn’t exist!

7. When you get knocked down get back up! Yes it is of course easier said than done, but it is your best option! You owe it to yourself to keep on going, even if you do have to start all over again!  Remember the beauty about starting again is that you have done it before so you already know you can do it again only this time you can do it BETTER!  :)

8. Don’t dwell on things. We all know that you can’t change the past! Some things can’t be fixed & you are better off letting go & moving on. You could waste your precious time worrying about things or wishing you could go back in time to undo your mistakes but you simply can’t so what is the point of worrying about it? It’s not going to change anything – in fact it’s only going to make you feel worse & make you more unhappy. Cut your losses & move on!

9. The most important thing I have learnt through this particular experience is to appreciate! Don’t ever take things for granted! Appreciate what you DO have & make the most of what you’ve got! There are plenty of people out there a LOT worse off that you!

10. Don't place so much importance on "things". The most important things in life are not things, it’s the people in your life that are far more important!

It’s hard to see the BIG picture in life when you’re looking at things too closely. When you’re focused on one small part of your life it’s easy to miss the beauty of the full picture & things don’t make sense. We all know when you hit rock bottom it’s difficult to see things ever getting better. You can only see the problem that is right in front of you... but it may be blocking your view of something even better!

How can you possibly see the potential for opportunity, success & happiness in your future if you don’t take your eyes off the past & move forward?

I believe in taking something from every experience, whether it is a good experience or bad experience there is always something to be learnt!

You never know what terrible things may have happened in the future if you had not learnt your lesson now – things could always be a lot worse!


No matter what life throws at me I choose to deal with them the best I can & remain as positive as possible. Your stuff ups & knock backs are what makes you stronger as a person & gives you an opportunity to be better next time!

Life is what you make it & your happiness relies on how you choose to deal with things. You can either be negative & unhappy (which is what I used to be) or positive & happy! I know I’m a thousand times better being the latter!

Even when you think you have learnt your lessons in life you still need to take the time to revise those lessons! It’s easy to forget & you get so caught up in life that before you know it you’re making those same mistakes all over again, or going back to the person you “used” to be. Ensure your past mistakes were worthwhile & learn from them!

How do you learn to truly appreciate if you have never lost? How do you become stronger if you have never fallen down? How can you advise others on how to overcome things & work their way up if you have never done it yourself?

I believe everything does happen for a reason but it’s up to YOU to take the opportunity to learn  something from each experience & make it worthwhile!
You will appreciate your achievements so much more if your journey was hard & entailed a lot of setbacks!

Life doesn’t always go as planned so it’s really important to be grateful when it does! Just because you have chosen to be a more positive person doesn’t mean your life miraculously goes perfectly!

Don’t lose the person you have worked hard to become just because things aren’t going your way. I can guarantee that you will be a much happier person in the long run by getting back up when you’re knocked down & having a more positive attitude no matter what happen in life.

"It’s the people who give up after being knocked down that fail! I’d rather die trying than live my life knowing I gave up when things got tough!"

"I believe if you pursue your dreams with unstoppable determination, know exactly what you want and possess an incessant desire to acquire it, you will prevail!"

"Its not about what we achieve that makes us truly successful it's who we become through the journey & what we can contribute to others through our own successes which gives our lives significant meaning."

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit."