STOP RIDING THE CONFIDENCE ROLLER COASTER
Confidence
Probably the word that gets murdered the most by the industry
This idea that you SHOULD be confident
And that we can somehow force ourselves into feeling confident
(Don’t know about you but I’ve never had sustainable results from going against my body)
So If you’re a professional actor and you’ve realised that no job is coming to save you
Then stop riding the confidence roller coaster
Super charged one week
Utterly lost & second guessing everything the next
“Confidence” comes form the Latin word “confidere”
Which translated means “to trust oneself fully” - beautiful
Three things we need to pay attention to here
Performance trust
Self trust
Pressure & Acceptance
For performance trust we want two things - skills and evidence. Or at the very least, we want to be clear about the skills and evidence that we need to see in order to feel confident. Remember - A clear plan can be just as trust-inducing as the skills/evidence themselves!
Secondly. For self trust - nothing kills confidence more than expectations. Write down the expectations (real or imaginary) that you think others are placing on you. And that you are placing on yourself. Then say goodbye to every single one of them. (If you’ve been a professional for a while - might be some beautiful grieving here)
Thirdly. Pressure only exists when we are not accepting that which we cannot control. So write down all the things you are struggling to accept. Write down that which you keep resisting. And admit to yourself what you keep fighting to accept. Then lovingly write down next to each and every one of them: “… And thats okay” (Again - might be some grieving here).
What’s my point?
Confidence is not about pushing yourself with a forced smile
It’s about gently letting your body know it’s okay to trust itself again
Hope this helps
X