10 ways to beat the entertainment industry’s perfection problem
Imagine with me:
You’re in the midst of an incredibly emotional time in your life. Say you’re going through a breakup, or struggling to connect with the big “who am I?” question. Maybe you have some family issues going on. But! You’re an actor! The world is watching…you have auditions to work on and events to show face at in the hopes of catching your break. So we must put those emotions on pause…we push them down. Pop a band-aid over them. Because that casting director won’t be wooed by a messy, f’ed up actor will they? Maybe it works for a little while. But it keeps bubbling up to the surface. You know in your gut that things are off, maybe you’re not nailing the craft like you used to, you feel your focus and motivation slip…no matter how hard you try and try to ignore it and get back to business, you keep getting caught up.
Sound familiar at all? I know I’ve been there.
Actors, time for some real talk. We’ve got a serious perfection problem in the entertainment industry and it’s coming at the expense of our health. The idea that we must present the “perfect actor life” is dangerous. It weasels into our minds and can lead us to ignore the continual work that all humans need to be healthy: focusing on our personal growth and wellbeing.
But the way things often are in the business of acting, it can be really easy to fall into the trap that you have to keep going as if nothing is wrong. Maybe you’ve had a former teacher or colleague in the industry who made you believe that anything other than perfection and being “okay” would tank your career. Maybe you’ve been playing the comparison game with actors who look like they’re doing “so much better than you”. You’re not alone. So many of us actors let ourselves believe that false narrative.
We convince ourselves that there’s no time to press pause if we want to succeed. That if we stop to feel those feelings, or work on that relationship, or make some big life changes, that the industry will pass us by and leave us in the dust.
But how silly is that, right? We’re not robots! We are human beings. No one is born perfect or achieves perfection in their lifetime. We all have different stories. Different struggles, and different pain. Some periods of this life will be relatively smooth sailing. And others will come with hurdles and experiences that shake us and sometimes even break us. We’ve all got the same stamp of “being human” on our foreheads from the moment we’re born.
I don’t care HOW someone else’s life looks or even what they say about their lives. We all experience high and low seasons. They come at different times and with different details, but they happen to us all.
And yet, the influence of our culture and society is powerful, right? The Hollywood narrative of actors and celebrities having the glossy sheen of perfection is one that is deeply embedded in our world - yes, even to many folks who are inside the industry. While we are slowly taking strides as an industry to combat and rewrite that narrative, it will take time. In the meantime, we must be mindful and proactive in acknowledging how it is affecting us and how we can take steps to do better.
WHY PERSONAL GROWTH IS IMPORTANT FOR ACTORS
Don’t think this is for you? It is. Keep reading.
Lack of consistent attention to your personal wellbeing and growth can literally impact your artistry, your auditions, your level of success as an actor. If you find that your work is off, your performances don’t land like they used to, and you’re feeling unsettled with the state of your career, it might be time to consider that the issue actually lies within.
As actors our bodies are our instruments, our minds and hearts are our tools. If there’s an imbalance going on, a band-aid over blockage within, it will come out in your work. I can guarantee it. It doesn’t matter that the thing you’re avoiding technically has nothing to do with the entertainment industry. If something’s creating chaos inside you, it’ll 100% affect your career.
How can we be our best selves without being honest about the emotional and mental work we need to properly care for ourselves? How can we perform at our best when our minds and hearts are racing, or we’ve built walls to protect us from our unaddressed issues? How can we show up for our agents, managers, casting, film crew, and costars when we aren’t even showing up for ourselves fully?
I’m not saying the work of personal growth is fun, but it is vital to becoming the actor - the human you’re meant to be. I can promise you this; when you decide to face it, to process it, to start the journey to overcoming and healing it, your career and your life will change.
10 WAYS TO BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT PERSONAL GROWTH
If you’ve been looking for a sign, this is it. Stop waiting. Take a breath and take the plunge. The best way out is through. And taking the time to work on your personal growth and development will ALWAYS benefit your work as an actor. We spend so much time in acting classes but how much time do we actually spend working on ourselves?
Here are 10 suggestions to help you in your continual personal growth journey:
Schedule time to be quiet and alone with your thoughts every day. We can get so busy in the actor grind that we don’t have time to understand how we’re actually feeling. Start with 5 minutes every morning.
Breathe more. Breathe deeply. We so often hold or take shallow breaths. Taking good, deep breaths helps clear out the negativity and junk we’re holding onto and provides clarity.
Dump your thoughts into a journal. Whether it’s your fears, failures, nervous energy, worries, hopes, dreams, frustrations, or confusion…getting it all out of your body and onto the page can help you pinpoint what needs some work.
Listen to an inspiring personal growth or wellness podcast. I suggest Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us, The Melissa Ambrosini Show, or Armchair Expert.
Make a list of qualities about yourself that you’re proud of, and ones you’re not so proud of. Get honest with yourself (but don’t beat yourself up). This can be a great reminder of areas to be more mindful of each day.
Schedule a meeting with a certified psychologist, therapist, or life coach to help you create a healthy plan to reach your goals. An outside, professional perspective can be life changing!
Ask your loved ones how you can be a better friend/partner/sister/etc. for them. Listen. Take action.
Are you making time every week to do things that bring you joy? Schedule it. Unlocking your inner happiness regularly is key to maintaining a well-balanced life.
Read a personal growth book in an area that you’d like to work on or learn more about. Some of my favorites include The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer, The Four Agreements, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and Inward by young pueblo.
Be mindful of your responses to others (in the acting world and your personal life).Take note of any extreme reactions or triggers. Assess what the healthy next steps to address those triggers might be (this is a great time to enlist the help of a mental health professional).
So make that call, have that conversation, schedule an appointment with your therapist, forgive the person you’ve been holding a grudge against. Do what you need to do to create a positive, peaceful, free space within you. You are bigger than that emotional weight you’re avoiding. Future you will thank you for it.
Thoughts or questions? Let’s connect! Visit my personal Instagram or the podcast Instagram and shoot me a comment or DM.
