"I don't count the sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting because they're the only ones that count. That's what makes you a champion" - Muhammad Ali

One of the things you first realize when you start exercising is that it should hurt. If it doesn't, you aren't doing it right. Pain is the body's way of telling us we are reaching our limits. This is how we become stronger.

Perhaps, photography works in a similar way: the goal shouldn't be to make easy images, but to chase the hard ones. Perhaps, the more uncomfortable we feel, the more challenges we have to face to make an image... the better that image will be.

So maybe by trying new compositions, capturing new subjects, limiting our options, visiting new places... we become stronger photographers.