My Selfie Scrapbook Forfeit

This post could equally have been called: The Day I Hit My Creative Limit...

When I read about Jen and Julie's idea for a selfie scrapbook, I was intrigued. I love the idea of a creative challenge - there's something about group accountability and inspiration that make projects so much fun!  Like I talked about earlier, I've been feeling a bit photo-averse lately. However, as I browsed the participants' Week 1 posts, I was convinced - I had to take part.

Because I couldn't track down a 4x4 album in Perth and didn't have the patience to wait for one to be delivered, I decided giving digital scrapbooking a go. I intended to get them printed into a photo book at the end of the challenge.

After posting on Instagram that I was going to participate, the project lodged itself in my brain, taking up more than it's fair share of mental capacity. I kept thinking about getting the perfect photos (failing repeatedly to actually do so). I just didn't make the time to learn more about using the digital elements I've purchased over the last few months, and felt really guilty about it. I beat myself up because I didn't get my pictures and pages done in time to contribute to the blog hop. The project dominated my thoughts, and not in a good way. I was stressed and discouraged.

I am trying to stay up-to-date on my Project Life album, my OLW prompts, my Get Messy Art Journal, my 52 books in 2015 goal, and my daily meditation practice. I love all of these projects - they inspire me and bring me so much joy, but I'm at my limit.

My stressed brain finally shouted "SERIOUSLY, DELANEY! ENOUGH!!" at me late on Sunday afternoon, and it hit me: I don't have to participate in every creative project that comes along, even ones that I completely love and adore like this one.

I spent most of Sunday evening feeling relieved, and a bit silly that I'd let myself get so worked up. Then I spent most of Monday trying to decide whether I was brave enough to hit publish on this post, but I realised that if I'm struggling so much just to take a pass on participating in something, maybe someone else is too. It that someone else is you, let me know and we can take a breather together and cheer this one on from the sidelines!

Comments

[brooke]

Hi! Just found you via Kathleen/Kapachino and it looks like we have a lot in common - including this forfeiture. I did the exact same thing. I wanted to do it and took a few photos and then realized that I already had enough projects on my plate and this one wasn't right for me right now.

[Delaney]

Thanks, Brooke - I'm glad to hear I'm not alone!! I'm still feeling pangs of "I want to play!!" every time I see this project somewhere, but I know deep down that sitting this one out is the right thing to do this time!