Day 149: Trial And Error

There are many ways you can learn something. Classrooms, tutorials, mentors, etc. Whatever you are trying to do there will always be someone who can instruct you in how to do it and often there will be more than one way to do it. Yet in personal experience, the best way to learn most skills is through trial and error.

When I started photography, I did watch a lot of online tutorials at first. However, my favorite teacher in this area and many other areas since, has been trial and error. There is just something about this method of learning that allows you to keep the information for longer.

Instead of copying how someone else does a certain skill, you are learning your own method and you will ultimate learning other things along the way. When you take a path no one else has walked you are bound to learn things no one else knows. That is the power of trial and error.

There is definitely nothing wrong with learning via other areas such as a mentor, workshops, tutorials, or books. Those are wonderful resources that should be leveraged in order to promote your own success. But in the long run, you are pulling from someones else's skills. Is that truly the best way to do it? Are there other ways that you could pull from?

Set yourself free to explore the craft in which you are part of. Experiment, break the rules, and dare to do things differently than anyone else. Often when you learn through trial and error, you will remember certain techniques better than reading it out of a manual. You will often find ways of doing things different from others that will set your style apart from everyone else's.

You are your own unique and beautiful individual, find your own way throughout your craft. Do things different and see where that will lead you. You never know what will happen until you try, fail, and then adjust. The world of your craft is waiting for you, it might be time to throw out the rule book and do things your way.

Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt