Suspicious Personal Goals
18 APR, 2026The temptation to avoid setting a bar or expectations when working on a photographic image is a frequent visitor in my thoughts. Open calls, awards, and exhibitions forms a map of where you "have" to go. Social media doubles down on that, oversimplifying the end goal, creating a feeling that every milestone is around the corner. I feel the desire to attach “realistic” expectations to a project, growth, or achievements, constantly checking in on myself to see if the result was "good." With social media, the challenge is even harder to ignore, as algorithms reduce behavior to dashboard analytics like likes, reposts, and other interactions.
There is a desire to simplify the practice into actionable steps: create a business plan, set up a roadmap, and move from one checkpoint to the next. How much of my current experience with photography is associated with the end goal of winning something? I have started to think about it backward, to work on my end product, my visual language, and my understanding of the image. The problem is that with the right coefficient of strategy and improvement, success becomes achievable, but it strips away the initial intentions behind why the practice was started. I want to avoid becoming too oriented toward the efficiency of producing results and calculating outcomes, and instead remember the initial desire to chase visual language and curiosity.
After a year, I have already gained so much more than I expected; behind the initial doors, there are fifty more that I don’t yet know about. So, the desire to peel away unreasonable expectations should make my practice much easier. Expectations consume a lot of energy that could be directed elsewhere.
After taking a break while writing this article, the word “goals” began to shift toward “honesty” in my practice, honesty with myself about which topics I truly want to explore. I am learning where to draw the line: refusing to pursue something just because it is “strategically right” or relevant to the current times. I am happy that photography can be a vacuum in which I can be as authentic as my personality allows me to be at the moment. Learning to say no to the temptations of open calls and other “sports-oriented” goals seems to be rewiring my original intentions into a truly personal path.
Today’s Writing Soundtrack:
Philipp Glass - Fish
The Big Ship - Brian Eno
If this sparked any thoughts, I’d be glad to hear from you on Insta @rutnytskyi