The emphasis on being a great photographer is always there. Creating goals and achieving them should always be what we strive for. Working hard plus blood, sweat, and tears is a necessity. Yet all this should be second in life. The shutter… Should be second. Photography is important, but it’s no comparison to living your life.
The idea is this. You photograph to live, not live to photograph. Does that make me a sell out? Does it make me less committed to the craft? Some would say yes. Yet without the ability to live there is no photography. Without a life wrapped around family and friends, God and community, or whatever you live for … your photography will suck. Yes, suck!
It’s your ideology, family, and friends, pain, love that will ultimately drive and influence your photography. Without these things creativity may present itself difficult. Yet with these things you may find photography less important. My son Huntington has been sick the last couple of days. Not just sick like taking some Tylenol sick… But sick like …get admitted to the hospital sick. My life the last couple days have been wrapped up with his recovery. The last thing on my mind has been photography, lighting, the newest dslr… Whatever. Photography is the last thing on my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I love photography, but there’s so much more than the shutter.
Spending sometime away from the shutter is just as important as perfecting the craft. I challenge you, dare your … walk away from your camera for a couple days, weeks, maybe a month, breathe and come back. 
The results may free you!