stay open
Happy Wednesday! On Monday, I wrote a post about embracing the unknown and not looking at a situation as though it's the same just because there are some similarities. Monday’s post got me thinking about not just embracing the unknown but also about being open and receptive to positivity. I’ve written before about your thoughts informing your actions and letting things come to you, but you can’t actually receive the things you want if you’re not open to receiving them.
Have you ever seen the movie ‘Meet Joe Black?’ One of my favorite lines of dialogue that occurs in that movie is when Anthony Hopkins’ character tells his daughter, “Stay open. Who knows? Lightning could strike!” He’s talking to her about romantic love, but taken out of context, that line is so poignant to me for a myriad of reasons.
Have you ever been hopeful about a situation only to endure an outcome that was not what you originally wanted? I did not get a callback for the UCB Theater’s Harold auditions, and although I was a little saddened by it, it was fairly easy to let it go. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t invested in the hope of getting on a team, but people often get stuck dwelling on the past or on what they could have done differently; they also get stuck on the idea of what other people did wrong. It’s funny to me to see how quickly egos can take over when in reality, a lot of it has to do with personal accountability in addition to other external factors. A certain amount of venting is healthy, but after about 15 minutes, it starts to feel like dwelling (15 min. is my number of time I allow myself to wallow in something before pivoting; it’s not a hard-and-fast number by any means for anyone but myself). I was happy with my audition because I really achieved the goals I'd set for myself for the experience, but I know it probably wasn't the type of scene work that I'm truly capable of on my best day. And that's okay. It's just motivation to work harder!
It helps to set personal goals because the only person you’re truly in competition with in life is yourself. By shutting down and dwelling on the past, you do your future self a disservice and shut yourself off to receiving so many potentially amazing things in the future. By remaining open to receiving, you may receive some stuff you don’t want, but you’ll receive a lot of really great stuff, too. And if you receive some stuff you don’t want, you’ll be able to let it go much more easily because of the knowledge you gained from past experiences and failures.
Yesterday, Garage Band had an amazingly fun practice. We did vocal and rap warm-ups, ran the opening we created a few times, and did a few sets, as well as some tag-run songs. It was such a good, energetic space filled with so many solid jokes, two-person scenes, and group games and songs. Had we not stayed present and instead dwelled on the stress of the previous few weeks instead of enjoying the couple hours we had together, the practice could have gone so much differently. Instead, by letting go of the external happenings and just enjoying our practice together, we ended up having so much fun.
By also staying open to opportunity, I was able to book work on set of the CBS show “Scorpion” for today, as well as on the CBS show “Young Sheldon" for Thursday (my second time working on Young Sheldon). Things that happen to you in life are neutral; the way you react to them is how they gain their meaning. Stay open, and be proactive in your thinking. Good things come to those who work hard and stay positive because those people are able to view those things as good.
I'm not sure I'll be back with a video recap for Friday since I'll be on set on Thursday; however, thank you so much for reading, and, as always, if you have any pressing questions or if you want to discuss something further with me, feel free to subscribe below or reach out to me on the “contact” page. I’m so grateful you're here and that I’ve been getting a lot of really challenging questions and even better feedback from a community all over the world. I couldn’t do this without you! So THANK YOU! I’m here for you, and I love hearing from you, too! You’re the best, and you have everything you need inside of you! Please believe it! Starve your ego, feed your soul - and follow your heart!