ARTICLE - How To Actively Stay Positive!

What do you think is the #1 factor to your success as an actor? Connections? Training? Marketing package? I'll give you a hint: I've mentioned it before.... yes, that's right.... ATTITUDE!! A lot of people refer to that as your "mindset" and it's so impor- wait what? You've heard this all before? Really?

Then why do you still have stinkin' thinkin'?

Don't deny it, I AM YOU, remember? I know what it's like to let my mind get the best of me when I'm intimidated at an audition or an agent meeting. I know what it feels like to think that you're too fat or too thin or too pretty or too ugly for XYZ Role. Not enough credits, too many of a certain kind of credits, etc. I call these "ceiling thoughts" because they put a ceiling on our potential as actors and as human beings. We give ourselves reasons why we CAN'T do things! And as time goes on, these ceiling thoughts get stronger and stronger as we give them more and more weight in our lives. Finally, they become an impenetrable fortress of negativity that surrounds us and imprisons us and the worst part is, WE'RE OK WITH THAT! Out of fear of trying and failing, or out of fear of believing and having our faith turn sour, we just don't try and don't believe and get comfortable with our choice.

So how do we build the muscles that we need to bust through our Ceiling Thoughts? Well, we train all the other aspects of our business and craft, and so why not train our mind? The simplest way: Daily Affirmations.

 Affirmations are self-directed positive thoughts or statements that relate to specific outcomes you want to achieve, such as wealth, success, or health. Instead of negative self-talk, you can use positive daily affirmations to direct what your focus will be. You can overcome the obstacles of your past, enjoy your present and create your future by utilizing daily affirmation. Affirmations redirect your values, help formulate goals, or prepare you for life's challenges that always come.

Here's how they work: Utilizing positive statements in the present tense, you look at yourself in a mirror and claim for yourself the person you strive to be. For example:

-         I am a highly talented actor and I would be an asset to any production

With daily affirmations, you exercise the part of your subconscious that is always providing you with feedback about yourself. It's always on, and it is simply a mirror of the input it receives. When something seems to contradict that feedback, the subconscious rejects it in order to maintain self-preservation of the ego. When the person who uses the above statement has a bad audition or doesn't get a part, they're already trained to say, "Well, that's ok, it wasn't meant to be for me because I'm a highly-trained actor and I would be an asset to any production, so clearly this role wasn't for me and now leaves me room for something better to come along." This is in contrast to the actor that always worries if they're talented enough and if they could only get enough auditions...: "Great, I feel like I suck, I blew it, and I'm not good enough to make it. I should go back to [insert hometown here]."

So how's your subconscious? Does it feed you the positive energy necessary to be in an industry laced with rejection, or does it just tell you over and over about all the rejection you will continue to receive? Your body (actions) will do what your mind (thoughts) tells it to do, so if you are seeking success, train your mind to take the action needed to be successful. Your best tools are you and a mirror.


Cheers!
Justin Giddings
www.TheLyndonTechnique.com - Visit our website so you can sign up for our NEWSLETTER and receive even more articles like these!