Albert Einstein once said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” When you try to fix something, you fixate on it. You spend your time and energy focusing on the problem, not the solution.
So why not simply reframe your thinking when it comes to the things you feel are problems in your life and acting career? Instead of wishing things were different, what if you didn’t even see them as problems at all but as the perfect next steps along your path?
Recently, I had an epiphany in the midst of watching “The Hollywood Reporter” roundtable discussion of dramatic actresses where Emmy nominees Oprah Winfrey and Nicole Kidman talked about being nervous and scared of making fools of themselves, and I realized that thinking you will feel differently when you get to somewhere other than where you are right now is an illusion.
READ: How to Become an Actor
So to help you find your “happy place,” here are 21 questions you should ask yourself as you move forward in your actor life:
- What if everything was perfect exactly as it is right now?
- What if you didn’t need anything to change for you to feel good?
- What if the timing of all that is (and isn’t) happening for you was perfect?
- What if the space you have in your life right now was perfect?
- What if all those days you doubted yourself were perfect?
- What if all the times you procrastinated were perfect?
- What if all the times you wondered, “When is it going to happen for me?” were perfect?
- What if all the times you knew you nailed your audition were perfect?
- What if all the times you didn’t hear anything were perfect?
- What if all the times you questioned yourself were perfect?
- What if all the times you picked yourself back up were perfect?
- What if all the times you started to believe again were perfect?
- What if all the times your confidence wavered were perfect?
- What if all the tears you’ve cried were perfect?
- What if all the emotions you’ve shared were perfect?
- What if all the gifts you’ve given were perfect?
- What if all the roles you’ve done so far were perfect?
- What if where you are right now in your career was perfect?
- What if you chose to see all of it as perfect?
- What if the thought that where you want to go will feel different than where you are right now is actually keeping you from enjoying the present?
- What if you got where you wanted to go and still had your days of doubt, disbelief, questioning, tears, wavering, and fear?
As long as you are an actor, as long as you are a human being on this planet...this is pretty much how it’s going to be. So don’t wait to be nominated for an Emmy to start feeling good about yourself or your career. Go ahead and choose that where you are today is perfect.
Whether you are up, down, sideways, or curled up in a ball, it’s a new day in your magnificent life. Don’t waste today by wishing things were different. Make peace with where you are and you will find your happy place.
Remind yourself, that there’s not another person like you on the planet: You are unique, magnificent, and the only one who can tell your story in the way you do it.
Stop waiting to feel confident or that the time is finally right to create. Do it all in the middle of your messy, down, and doubtful days. You are an artist and what the world needs right now is those who aren’t afraid to tell the truth of who they really are. So here’s to embracing the perfection that is your magnificent life, exactly as it is right now. Try bringing that feeling into your next audition and watch what happens.
Looking to get cast? Apply to casting calls on Backstage.
The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them,
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
