Photo Credit: Adapted from B4bees via cc
How to behave like a confident actor
As actors we are all too often being judged by others. We try and please agents, directors, casting directors, producers. We are constantly putting ourselves in to a subservient and low status role. All of this, teamed up with the rejection we face on such a regular basis can often take away our confidence.
What other people think of me is not my business. What I do is what I do. How people see me doesn’t change what I decide to do.
When we start to lack confidence we begin to doubt ourselves and start to think that ‘it is never going to happen’ – and you know what, when you are feeling like this it very rarely does happen!
You are allowing yourself to simply drift through life and go with the flow. Without confidence you begin to hide away from pushing yourself or stepping outside of your comfort zone because it seems pointless to do so.
People often believe that confident people are born that way, it is black or white, you either have it or you don’t. I completely disagree.
we have to learn to kind of embrace what makes us unique, and embrace our strength and then if people don’t like it, f**k it.
Confidence is a behaviour and is all about habits. Once you start to tweak your choices and start laying the building blocks of confidence you will see it grow and grow. Once it starts to grow you can practice more which builds more confidence which leads to more practice. It is a never ending cycle – there is no quick fix to becoming confident, it takes time.
Ten Habits of Confident Actors
There is a big difference between confidence and arrogance or cockiness, these habits will help you to grown in confidence. Confidence is a positive trait which will attract people, behaving arrogantly will simply detract people from you.
-
Being Afraid is OkayConfident people understand that fear is okay. Being afraid is not such a bad thing for confident people.All it’s uncomfortable feelings of anxiety are just a sign that you are headed in the right direction. -
Step out of your comfort zoneOnce you are able to accept your fear you can take the step outside of your comfort zone and go for what you want to.Your best self lies outside your comfort zones, it really is where the magic happens.Confident actors want to step out of their comfort zones because they want to grow.
-
Don’t ‘rest’Really confident actors do not spend their ‘resting’ time resting. Instead of procrastinating they simply get things done.Confident people find confidence from achievements – they strive to get things done so they can feel good about themselves by the end of the day.Don’t wait for life to serve you, serve yourself
-
Allow yourself to have funThink about it – isn’t life all about being happy? Life should be an adventure and having fun should be a massive part of that adventure.Confident people can understand that even with work and commitments you can have fun and see the fun in it all. Confident people rarely take it all so seriously.
-
Don’t care what others thinkEven when you are being judged by others you must know and understand that you are your biggest fan. The thoughts and words of others are never accurate when they are aimed at you. If you start to believe others, it becomes hard to believe in yourself.Confident people know that what they think of themselves it what really matters and that way you can always build a life you are proud of.
-
Don’t judge othersAs you can see above judging others is a waste of time and energy.Confident people let go of any judgements or preconceived notions and just give everybody an equal chance in life.
-
Look for solutionsIt is so easy to focus on your problems and fall into ‘poor me’ and whining waiting for someone else to give us the answers.Confident people know that they are capable of finding the answers and pursue them. If they need help then they can ask for it with confidence and equal status, not from a ‘poor me’ attitude.Being resourceful and seeking the solutions builds confidence and also builds a wonderful habit of being able to rely on yourself.
-
Stop ComparingJust as confident people don’t care what others think, they also do not compare their life or career with someone else’s.A truly confident person knows that their journey is theirs alone and they can forge their own path. Confident people can gather inspiration from other people’s journeys but would never want to be exactly like them, this is just setting an unrealistic goal and expectation which it is impossible to achieve.A confident person creates their own unique life and career.
-
Make up your own rulesI am not talking about anarchy and purposely breaking the rules, I am talking about having a belief in yourself to know what is right or wrong.Confident people listen to themselves – when you listen to your own life it is always true and can not be denied.Really confident people know the difference between their life and the world and understand what rules will work for them.
-
Start TryingFailure will only come when you stop trying, so confident people TRY.The result is not important, whether you got what you want or you didn’t what is important is that you tried. Everytime you try it is a stepping stone to success.Trying is how confidence is gained. You can never regret because you have given it a go, you can only regret what you never tried.Confident people keep trying to get what they want.
