Did you ever see that commercial where the elderly lady is on the floor and says, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up?” Sometimes you might feel like you have done that in your life—especially in your acting career. There are times in each person’s life when you feel like you are stuck. You are absolutely not moving anywhere. The doors all seem shut and it feels like you might just stay there forever because there are no paths forward. But there is always a path forward!
Here are a couple of simple tips today to help you get unstuck.
1. First, set some goals so you are clear about the direction in which you are heading. I like setting two goals.
- Set a short-term goal (three-six months). Choose something that is very achievable within a short time frame. Then, break down the weekly or daily tasks you must do to guarantee that goal gets met.
- Set a long term goal (one year). Sit down and get clear about where you want to be in one year. You need to take some time alone with no distractions to get clear about what you really want. Don’t work hard going after something that isn’t really wonderful.
I don’t think a goal is the ultimate achievement in life, but just something to get you out of bed each morning and moving forward. Often, you will find something much more wonderful along the path to your goal than the goal itself. But you would never have stumbled upon that diamond if you weren’t walking down the road toward something else.
2. Tell others your goals so you have to put it out there in the universe.
- Writing your goal down tends to make it more likely to be achieved.
- Telling others helps to make you be more accountable to your goal.
- Post it so the world can see it. I always encourage people to post their goals on my Hartt and Soul Facebook page, as well as my Actors for Actors Facebook group. You will feel more obligated to work toward your goal if others are part of the challenge. Start a fun challenge amongst your acting friends. Once it’s out there, people will ask, “Did you achieve your goal?” and you will not want to say, “No, I gave up.”
3. Make it a game.
Give yourself little challenges. Try to do better this month than you did last. See if you can land a role in two weeks. Or try to get an agent before Christmas. Challenge yourself to make more money from acting this year than you did last year. Turn it into a fun game. You can even make a list and cross things off as you get them done. Or give yourself rewards for each task accomplished toward your goal. Play a game with yourself so you are competing with yourself instead of others. Make a challenge with a friend who wants play the game with you. It’s not a life or death competition, but a fun game. This will tend to challenge you to do the best you can. If you have done the best you can, you shall be fulfilled no matter if you met the actual goal or not.
Success isn’t getting to the top of the mountain. True success is doing every single, last thing you can do to try to get there.
4. Along with a to-do list, make a “what to stop doing” list.
Each day, take one thing off of your list of things you are planning to do. You might decide to not play computer games today. That leaves you time for your important game of your goal. Or stop trying to look like a super achiever and let others do the things they ask you to do. You’d be surprised how many things you think you have to do that really don't even need to get done. Maybe you take off a bad habit today…like, don’t smoke today. Maybe it’s something spiritual…like, stop judging today. Maybe it’s an emotional thing…like, don’t get mad today.
Take off one thing every day so that you do not waste your time doing something detrimental instead of doing something constructive. Stop doing things that keep you from achieving your goals.
Like this advice? Check out more from our Backstage Experts!
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and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
