How To Build Habits You Want: Find A Community
In 2018 and 2019, I ran five photo + video workshops with Jeremiah Davis and Jacob Riglin. We took over 50 guests from 15 different countries to five different workshops on three continents. Creators who had been following Jacob and Jeremiah reserved their spot, payed a few thousand dollars, bought a plane ticket, and flew halfway around the world to spend the week with a dozen strangers.
Even after more than 30 hours of traveling, they were immeasurably excited to be there.
People from the American midwest, and eastern Europe, and suburban Canada, and rural Mexico sat in the living rooms of the homes we stayed at, talking until 2:00 AM. Then, we all woke up at 4:30 AM to drive an hour and catch the sunrise somewhere.
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear writes about how we can make habits more attractive if we spend time with people who are already committed to them. He says, “One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior. New habits seem achievable when you see others doing them every day.”
In Los Angeles, everyone is a creator. There are plenty of people who do what you do, and you can find them. But on these workshops, it was amazing to witness people connecting, all from parts of the world where being a creator was not normal. They stayed up late, even before early mornings, to talk about their favorite creators, show each other editing tricks, and share inspiration.
Even though there has been a big boom in the workshop and online class space, I’m still a big fan of them. When people can connect with a community that’s going where they want to go, getting there becomes much easier. If you’ve got a direction in mind, or some place you’d like to go, go find the others. Sign up, pay the fees, take the vacation time.
Finding a community that speaks your language is truly priceless.
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