Somewhere along the way, we began celebrating our faults. At the outset, it sounds almost sweet, like we’re just embracing who we are. But it quickly turns into embracing negativity at the expense of pursuing progress, or in some cases, even goodness.

Think about it — we all know someone who has said, “I just have to tell it like it is” after making a string of unnecessarily biting comments to or about someone else. We all know someone who rationalizes, “I just don’t have any patience for _____” after lashing out at someone or something. We all know someone who can’t be bothered, won’t take the initiative, refuses to listen.

And more often than not, we find that that someone is us.I struggle to celebrate faults — but I’m working hard to celebrate the struggle to overcome them. Because pushing ourselves to be better people — whether in our personal lives or in our careers, photography or otherwise — is not only far more admirable but also far harder than flipping our shortcomings on their heads and renaming them something inoffensive, like “unique character traits” or “personality quirks.”

We’re all entitled to unique character traits and personality quirks. But if these traits and quirks hold us back from living a fuller, richer life that benefits not only us but other people, I think we’re also obligated to lean our shoulders into the struggle. To pursue the path up and over the obstacle.

I’m not yet the person I think I should be — in my day-to-day interactions with friends and family, in the way I manage my business, in the way I manage my time. I’m working on it, though, one little struggle, one little celebration at a time.

~ Laura