I have been struggling lately with executing ideas I have. So I decided to figure out why by asking Chatgpt to help find the root of the issue. I really want to break this Paradigm. After our discussion, I asked Chat to write me a problem statement so I could put words to my struggle. Here is me being vulnerable and posting it in hopes to get some help on how to address it because everything I've tried is not working. Problem Statement🤔 I have spent much of my life believing that my value has to be earned. I do not naturally trust that I am worthy simply because I exist. I tend to measure myself by what I can accomplish, how competent I am, how useful I am, how much I contribute, and whether what I do matters to someone else. Because of that, being a beginner feels threatening. Practising feels indulgent. Making mistakes feels like evidence that I am not capable enough. Spending time on something that brings me joy but does not immediately help someone or produce a meaningful result can feel selfish, pointless, or wasteful. I often become excited by an idea and genuinely want to pursue it. I buy the supplies, imagine the outcome, make plans, and feel energized. But once the idea requires uncertainty, repetition, experimentation, failure, or time without a guaranteed payoff, I begin to doubt myself. I freeze. I overthink. I delay. Eventually the unfinished project becomes another piece of evidence I use against myself. The painful truth is that I have been asking myself to prove that I deserve my own time. I have treated my interests, curiosity, creativity, pleasure, and development as less important than what I can provide for other people. I have behaved as though my life only becomes meaningful when it is useful outside of me. And that belief is costing me parts of my life. It keeps me from becoming the photographer I could become, learning the skills I want to learn, making things with my hands, trying new experiences, following my curiosity, and discovering what I am capable of.