a sharp knife cuts clean
Happy Monday! I’ve written before in past posts about the importance of making your own decision and committing to that decision. I’ve written about accountability, valuing your time, honesty, and setting boundaries. As I am now in the final few days of being 27 years old, I’ve done a lot of reflecting back on past things I’ve written. Don’t worry; this is not going to be a sentimental post. In reflecting back on the past several months in which I really kickstarted this whole process, I realized one of the most important things of all: getting rid of the clutter.
Every six months or so, I make a point of reevaluating the different areas of my life to see what I can possibly simplify. Usually it comes in forms of donating clothing, organizing my schedule, and setting new short-term goals to achieve the greater long-term goals I have for myself. It has been said that humans only use about 10% of their brains, so if that’s true, make sure the 10% you’re using is full of useful, positive, beneficial information. My clutter tends to be a lot of material things around me, which is my big project in the immediate future, but clutter isn't always physical.
When I took classes at studio 4: James Franco's Acting and Film School, I studied the art of Meisner Technique for acting. The premise of Meisner is to strip away all the exterior factors and get down to the base emotions of a scene. By beginning with repetition, you and a partner face each other and say the same word back and forth to each other, letting your emotions take over as the word loses its meaning. You could be saying banana, but after awhile you could find yourself yelling, laughing, or crying. It all depended on what you and your partner were feeling in the moment. After you proved you had a good grasp on the concept of repetition, you then were able to move on to an exercise called "Activities" followed by "Doors and Activities." Each exercise acted as a building block off the previous one in order to set a strong foundation of emotional intelligence and understanding that could be applied to your scene work. It was important to break everything down to raw emotion and then rebuild from there, setting a strong foundation for future work grounded in honesty and authenticity.
When you get rid of all the clutter, you are able to form real connections. All those external stimuli and that excess noise can fill your world with unnecessary drama that distracts you from your true self. And if you lose touch with your true self, you’ll never be able to achieve your goals or reach your fullest potential because you won’t have any idea who you are or what you want. Getting rid of clutter means letting go, which can be scary because humans often cling to things that are familiar to them. But clinging to the familiar instead of pushing yourself to try something new will only get you the same results. If you're allergic to almonds, it'd be silly to keep eating almonds and expect to not have a negative reaction. Expecting a different outcome from the same repeated process is simply foolish. Embrace the idea of failure because failing at something new is way more rewarding than being stuck in an endless loop of the status quo.
My dad always says, “a sharp knife cuts clean.” If there are things that are distracting you in any way and cluttering your life, a clean break is best. Anything that does not add value to your life will subtract from it. Set boundaries, let things go, define perfection for yourself, hold onto your good, and focus on those who show up. Everything else is just clutter. Clutter is chaos, and chaos is toxic.
When you clear out the clutter that distracts you from your full potential, you make room to welcome and achieve greatness. Don't keep settling for less if you want to attain more. Cut the dead weight dragging you down, eliminate the clutter holding you back, get in touch with yourself, and don't ever hold yourself back. You can do anything you set your mind to if it's your goal and you work hard enough to achieve it.
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!