Critters inside

Imagine for a moment that you are on a trampoline. You are energetically jumping up and down, up and down, feeling the wind through your hair, heart racing, leaves rustling around you. The birds are chirping, a child giggles and you can’t help but smile.

And then you jump off the trampoline and you acknowledge how incredible you feel as blood pumps through your veins.  You are alive. This is it. The blood rushing, the wonderful knowledge that this is life, right here, right now.

If you take that energy into every aspect of your life I can promise you things change. Over the last few months I’ve taken myself on a gigantic self discovery journey of a new way of approaching things. I kind of stumbled on it in fact. I was busying myself with the usual “actor” things that actors busy themselves with, but I wasn’t finding any stillness in my mind. My mind feels like it has been cluttered for literally most of my life. Cluttered with junk, cluttered with negative thoughts, and cluttered with a lifetime of wrong doings, failings, sometimes non positive self talk, silly beliefs and more (and this is being written by the girl who believes life is like a box of chocolates in the best possible way).

Recently I wanted to find a new way of being. I’ve been trying all sorts of things including morning pages from The Artist’s Way, meditation (there are loads of programs available that offer self guided meditation for those of you who might be inexperienced like me – including yogaglo.com as recommended by my mate), and positive thinking like this article in Raptitude.com suggests.

But over the last few months more than ever before I realised that we are very much in control of our own sanity, our own self worth and our lives at large. When we make a commitment to ourselves to take it easy on our hearts and minds we make a statement to the world that says, I’m okay regardless of the outcome of this audition, or that screening, or this workshop, or that agent meeting.

Remember the saying “the show must go on“? Well it truly does go on…with or without you. Ever been away when a Director wanted to book you for a gig? Yep. Ever been in another country when your agent wants to send you for a big audition. Yep. That’s the reality of this industry. So if for some reason something happens to you (maybe you trip and sprain your ankle and are resting for a week) someone else can step into the role.

So what does this mean in the context of positive thoughts? Simply that you are replaceable at any given moment, at any place and space in time. So why worry so much!

It’s just not about you. And if it is, well, that probably means you’ve hit the point where the job offers are coming so thick and fast it’s a no brainer anyway (come on I hear you say – bring that on. Yes it’s coming!!!).

Want to know what success looks like? It’s that confident woman who walks into the room and knows that she isn’t determined by this one audition, or party, event or moment. She is confident and in control because in her life she is living and acting is her job, not her life!

Don’t make the mistake of being defined by your job. Be defined by so much more. Be the beautiful, humble, exotic creature you were when you were born into this world.

And I guess this goes all the way around and back to the trampoline moment. At Christmas while enjoying time with my family in Brisbane, we built a trampoline for my little nephews. They are just the cutest things ever and their little faces light up when we bounce on it with them! And one afternoon I went out for a little sneaky go on it while everyone else was inside. I’m telling you it was like a little magic button switched on in my belly. I beamed from ear to ear, inwardly I felt all warm and fuzzy, and outwardly I looked like a glow worm. I am absolutely 100% serious. Trampolines and that sense of freedom, are infectious.

And right now I’m trying to get rid of the self doubting critters inside and fill it with that infectious wonderful-ness that I know is available to me if I want to access it and harness it, just like I felt on that trampoline.

Ready to give it a go B.A.B.E.’s?




Photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography / Foter.com / CC BY & Camdiluv ♥ / Foter.com / CC BY-SA