Latest / The Aligned Actor / How Do You Want to Feel As An Actor? Part 1

Transcript

How Do You Want to Feel As An Actor? Part 1 · The Aligned Actor

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Aligned Actor Podcast.
• 0:03
  I'm Amy Schlerb,
• 0:04
  your friendly internet mindfulness and mindset coach for actor.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also an actor myself, so I get you.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I get those of us who have chosen these crazy careers that...
• 0:18
  throw us into the wringer and we love it and we hate it and
• 0:22
  it's great and it's
• 0:23
  awful and it's all the things all at once and we need to be
• 0:28
  taking care of
• 0:29
  ourselves we need to be thriving mentally physically
• 0:33
  emotionally and that's what
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: we're here to do on the aligned actor podcast
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: I want to talk today about goals.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: So what are your goals for yourself as an actor?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think it's really important to have goals.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: And usually actors have goals.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to be on a certain show.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to work with a certain director.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to just book more work.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, hey, don't we all?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Goals are great.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, they give you a focus.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: They give you something to work for and strive for.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: But there's something that's even better than goals.
• 1:13
  What's even better than having a goal is exploring the feelings
• 1:17
  behind the goals
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: because that's where the real magic lies.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So in her book,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: The Desire Map,
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul,
• 1:28
  Danielle Laporte talks about one New Year's Eve where she and
• 1:31
  her partner decided
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: to infuse their regular goal-setting practice with feelings.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So this is what she writes.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of talking about external goals,
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: we talked about how we wanted to feel in the various parts of our lives.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And she later goes on to say,
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: we wrote out a bunch of positive feelings and then we asked ourselves,
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: so,
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: What can we do to feel that way?
• 1:55
  They then adjusted their goals based on how they wanted to feel
• 1:58
  in their lives.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because really, ultimately, feelings are what you really want.
• 2:06
  The only reason we want anything in life is because we believe
• 2:09
  that attaining that
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: thing or having that experience is going to make us feel a certain way.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: So for example,
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I would love,
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: one of my goals,
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to play a recurring character on some kind of fun TV show.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because I believe that doing that work will feel playful,
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: creative,
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: collaborative,
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: and consistent.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like there'll be some stability to it or a routine.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like,
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: you go back into the same place,
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: the same cast,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: the same crew,
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: pretty regularly.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like that just feels stable and routine.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And you know the drill.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's a feeling that I'm looking for.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So if those are the feelings that I crave in my career,
• 2:55
  why not do whatever I can to feel that way and incorporate that
• 2:59
  energy into my
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: career right now?
• 3:03
  Because there's tons of ways that I can feel playful,
• 3:06
  creative,
• 3:07
  collaborative,
• 3:08
  and consistent.
• 3:09
  And I don't have to hold myself apart from those feelings just
• 3:12
  because I haven't
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: booked that recurring role yet.
• 3:17
  So for example,
• 3:17
  I can feel playful,
• 3:18
  creative,
• 3:19
  collaborative,
• 3:20
  and consistent.
• 3:21
  I'm repeating these words on purpose because repetition is
• 3:24
  really important.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I can feel playful,
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: creative,
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: collaborative,
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: and consistent by working regularly on monologues that I love.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: If I do that regularly,
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm being consistent,
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm collaborating with myself,
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: or I'm collaborating with that script,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm being creative,
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm creating a character,
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: and there's a playfulness to it.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm getting to play in my craft, right?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: I can get those feelings by working on fun scenes with my actor friends.
• 3:50
  That adds in even more collaboration because I'm getting to
• 3:53
  work with another
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: actor,
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: work with one of my peers.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I can get those feelings by attending an acting class regularly.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Again,
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: getting that consistency,
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: getting that playfulness,
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: getting that collaboration and the creativity,
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: all of it in one.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: I can get it even from other things that are not acting.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So like playing a board game with my son.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's playful.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's collaborative.
• 4:14
  We're either working together or we're having a little bit of
• 4:17
  good competition.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's all types of ways to get these feelings.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: I can get it from crafting.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: I love crocheting woobles.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Those little like stuffed animal things.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a sponsor.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: I just love them.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: But again, it ticks those feelings for me.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: It brings those up in my body.
• 4:33
  It makes me feel the ways that I want to be feeling from this
• 4:37
  goal that I have.
• 4:39
  i can get it from writing my Substack again that's playful it's
• 4:42
  creative it's
• 4:44
  collaborative because i feel like i am giving something to you
• 4:48
  and getting
• 4:48
  something in return either in comments or from people hearing
• 4:51
  this you know talking
• 4:53
  to me in person about what's going on with it uh you know that
• 4:57
  consistency of
• 4:58
  keeping regular with it again these are all things that tick
• 5:01
  that tick those
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: feelings for me and are great
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Also from filming and editing a reel,
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: using maybe the recording that I make on Substack and then editing that,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: putting that out online,
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: the response from that.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I get those feelings that I want.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: I've made this point, I think, abundantly.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Suddenly,
• 5:22
  I'm not waiting until I achieve my goal of playing a recurring
• 5:26
  character to feel
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: how I want to feel in my career.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing it myself.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm taking back my power and
• 5:32
  Taking ownership and agency of my career and how I want to feel
• 5:35
  in my career.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm cutting out the middleman and I'm getting straight to the good stuff.
• 5:40
  And I'm living and breathing in my career exactly the way that
• 5:44
  I want to be.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the more I focus on doing things that make me feel playful,
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: creative,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: collaborative,
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: and consistent,
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: the more I engage in my career in those ways too.
• 5:58
  So I literally can infuse my career with those feelings and
• 6:02
  make tangible shifts in
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: how I show up in my acting career.
• 6:07
  So maybe I start to approach my auditions and my class scene
• 6:10
  work with the energy
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: of those feelings.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden my acting work levels up.
• 6:17
  I engage with my peers and with my colleagues and with my reps
• 6:20
  in ways that align
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: with those feelings.
• 6:22
  I'm emailing my agent in a playful way or in a creative way or
• 6:27
  in a collaborative way.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm approaching career decisions with those feelings as a guide.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I look at every opportunity that comes my way,
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: every class that I might want to sign up for,
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: every workshop that comes across my radar.
• 6:41
  And I'm going,
• 6:42
  is this likely to get me closer to my core desired feelings?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is this going to feel playful?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Is it going to feel creative or collaborative?
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Is it going to help me feel consistent in my craft?
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: If so, then great.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Game on.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 6:56
  And if not,
• 6:57
  then probably that's just not an opportunity that I want to
• 7:00
  pursue.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's not going to get me those feelings that I crave in my career.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: So why would I go for it?
• 7:07
  What do I think I'm going to get out of it if it's not going to
• 7:09
  help me feel the
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: ways that I want to be feeling in my career?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I can honestly say at this point that I feel playful,
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: creative,
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: collaborative,
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: and consistent in my acting career,
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: despite having never booked a recurring role on a fun TV show.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I will achieve that goal at some point, or maybe I won't.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, I've gotten what I really wanted.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've gotten those core desired feelings for my acting career.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I have other jobs that are maybe not on TV,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: but they feel very similar to that idea of a recurring role,
• 7:52
  getting to go back and work with the same crew over and over
• 7:55
  and over again,
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: getting to feel playful,
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: collaborative,
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: creative,
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: all of that stuff and the consistency.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm getting it just in different ways.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what feels really great.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's what makes my career feel awesome.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let's explore your core desired feelings for your career.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a list of goals,
• 8:19
  you can use sort of the example I've been using throughout this
• 8:22
  content to figure
• 8:24
  out the feelings that you associate with those goals and then
• 8:28
  brainstorm additional
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: ways to access those feelings.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: So what you're gonna wanna do is ask yourself the question,
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: how do I think it will feel to,
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: insert your goal here,
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: win an Oscar,
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: work with Martin Scorsese, be on the pit.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 8:48
  I don't know what your goals are,
• 8:49
  but how do I think it will feel to achieve this goal?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then this follow-up question is,
• 8:57
  what are other things that you could do to feel that way more
• 9:02
  in your life?
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Once you know what those feelings are,
• 9:06
  what are other ways that you could feed that feeling and get
• 9:10
  that feeling going in
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: your body?
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can also start with the feelings.
• 9:16
  So you can decide how you want to feel in different areas of
• 9:19
  your life and your
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: career and start building goals around those feelings.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: So over on my sub stack,
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: I have a long,
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: long list,
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: a link to a long,
• 9:29
  long list of feeling words and some questions about various
• 9:34
  areas of life to
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: consider.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the questions basically are, how do you want to feel as an actor?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want to feel as you engage in your craft?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want to feel as you engage in the business?
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want to feel in your body?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want to feel in your living space?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want to feel in your social life?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want to feel at your day job?
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: How do you wanna feel with your family, friends, and loved ones?
• 10:06
  And you can keep asking questions about all the various areas
• 10:09
  of your life.
• 10:10
  I wanted to include all areas of your life because the point of
• 10:14
  the Aligned Actor
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: is that it's not just the acting career,
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: it's our whole life.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's our actor life.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to look at the whole thing.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you're feeling great in your career,
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: but really lousy in your social life,
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: that's not healthy.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's not gonna actually help your career.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's not actually gonna help you
• 10:38
  Like you're hurting yourself as an artist and as a human when
• 10:42
  these things get out of balance.
• 10:43
  So that's why I'm asking about core desired feelings for your
• 10:47
  whole actor life
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: because you're a whole human being.
• 10:50
  You're not just an actor with an acting career and then all
• 10:54
  that other stuff is
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: just sort of off on the side burner.
• 10:57
  We need to look at your whole actor life and decide how you
• 11:00
  want to feel in the whole thing.
• 11:03
  So play around with those approaches and the questions and come
• 11:08
  up with three to
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: five core desired feelings for yourself.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And they can be anything.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And again, everything comes back to how we want to feel.
• 11:20
  So spending some time musing on your goals and making sure
• 11:24
  they're aligned with how
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: you want to feel is really,
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: really going to benefit you.
• 11:31
  It will activate motivation for your goals in a whole new way
• 11:35
  because you'll know
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: why you want them and what's really driving you toward them.
• 11:43
  And it may also lead you to discover new goals that let you up
• 11:46
  like never before.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: So this is really important work.
• 11:50
  It's also really fun work because you get to kind of dive into
• 11:54
  feelings and goals
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: and it gets exciting and it gets inspiring.
• 11:59
  And who doesn't want to feel inspired as they're taking action
• 12:01
  toward their goals?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's the only way that we're going to continue to feel motivated
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: continue to go towards our goals is by feeling inspired,
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: feeling lit up by our goals and getting to the root,
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: getting to the why,
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: getting to the feelings behind the goals is really,
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: really,
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: really powerful stuff.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's like fuel for the journey.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I have for you today.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Next week,
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: we're going to do a very special guided audio where we're gonna,
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: we're gonna explore your core desired feelings.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure that you do this work,
• 12:35
  get your list of three to five core desired feelings for your
• 12:38
  career and for your
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: life in general,
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: whatever,
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: however it works for you.
• 12:44
  And then we're going to explore those feelings and we're going
• 12:46
  to do something
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: really,
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: really fun and playful.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think you're really going to love it.
• 12:50
  So make sure you do this work this week so that you can be
• 12:52
  ready for that work next week.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, that's what I have for you today.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.
• 12:58
  I'm so glad that you're here with me on this journey and I wish
• 13:02
  you all the best.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you found this article,
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: this podcast,
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: this content helpful or inspiring,
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: I would be so honored if you'd leave a comment.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's part of that collaborative thing.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let me know.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Let me know how it's working for you because I can make adjustments.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: If I get some feedback, I can make adjustments.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: I can help you with your work.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be great.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: We can collaborate on this together.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: So go ahead and leave a comment,
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: share this with a pal so that we can bring more people on board,
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: more actors on board for this kind of work.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: You could give a one-time donation.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: I would absolutely love that and so appreciate it.
• 13:37
  Or you could consider becoming a paid subscriber because then
• 13:40
  you support my work,
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: my ongoing work here on the Align Doctor podcast,
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: the Substack,
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: all of that stuff.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: And you also get to attend community Zooms with me.
• 13:52
  And we get to talk more about this kind of work and how you're
• 13:55
  doing with it.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: We get to practice some mindfulness together.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be a good time.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Take care and I'll see you later.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.