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Let’s talk about goals.

What are your goals for yourself as an actor? Maybe you want to be on a certain show, maybe you want to work with a certain director, maybe you just want to book more work — Hey, don’t we all?

Goals are great, but you know what’s even better? Exploring the feelings behind our goals, because that’s where the real magic lies.

Core Desired Feelings

In her book, The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul, Danielle LaPorte talks about how one new year’s eve she and her partner decided to infuse their regular goal setting practice with feelings.

She writes, “Instead of talking about external goals, we talked about how we wanted to feel in the various parts of our lives.” And goes on later to say, “We wrote out a bunch of positive feelings, and then we asked ourselves, ‘So what can we do to feel that way?’”

They then adjusted their goals based on how they wanted to feel in their lives.

Feelings Are What We Really Want

Ultimately, the only reason we want anything in life is because we believe that attaining that thing or having that experience is going to make us feel a certain way.

For example, I want to be a recurring role on a fun TV show because I believe doing that work will feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent (stable/routine).

If those are feelings I crave in my career, why not do whatever I can to feel that way and incorporate that energy into my career right now?

There are TONS of ways to feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent! I don’t have to hold myself apart from those feelings just because I haven’t booked that part yet.

I can feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent by…

* Working regularly on monologues I love

* Working on fun scenes with my actor friends

* Attending an acting class regularly

* Playing a board game with my son

* Crocheting a Wooble (not a sponsor, I just love them!)

* Writing my Substack

* Filming and editing a reel

Suddenly, I’m not waiting until I achieve my goal to feel how I want to feel. I’m cutting out the middle man and getting straight to the good stuff!

And the more I focus on doing things that make me feel playful, creative, collaborative and consistent, the more I engage in my career in those ways too. I can literally infuse my career with those feelings and make tangible shifts in how I show up in my career.

* I approach auditions and class scene work with the energy of those feelings.

* I engage with my peers and colleagues in ways that align with those feelings.

* I approach career decisions with those feelings as a guide. (Is this opportunity likely to get me one or more of my core desired feelings? If yes, great! Game on! Let’s do it! If not, probably a “No, thank you” is more in order.)

I can honestly say that I feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent in my career, despite having never booked a recurring role on a fun TV show. Maybe I’ll achieve that goal at some point or maybe I won’t. Either way, I’ve gotten what I really wanted: My core desired feelings for my acting career!

Let’s Explore Your Core Desired Feelings

If you have a list of goals, you can follow my example above to figure out the feelings you associate with them and then brainstorm additionally ways to access those feelings.

* How do you think it will feel to [insert your goal here]?

* What are other things you could do to feel that way(s) more often in your life?

You can also start with the feelings. Decide how you want to feel in different areas of your life and build goals around those feelings. Here’s a looooooooong list of feeling words and some questions about various areas of life to consider.

* How do you want to feel as an actor?

* How do you want to feel as you engage in your craft?

* How do you want to feel as you engage in the business?

* How do you want to feel in your body?

* How do you want to feel in your living space?

* How do you want to feel in your social life?

* How do you want to feel at your day job?

* How do you want to feel with your family, friends, and loved ones?

Play around with these approaches and questions and come up with 3-5 core desired feelings for yourself.

Again, everything comes back to how we want to feel, so spending some time musing on your goals and making sure they’re aligned with how you want to feel is really going to benefit you.

It will activate motivation for your goals in a whole new way because you will know WHY you want them and what’s really driving you toward them. It may also lead you to discover some new goals that light you up like never before!

If you found this article helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, give a one-time donation, or consider becoming a paid subscriber.

I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor life.

🎭 I’ve been a professional actress for almost 20 years. I’ve survived 3 industry shut downs - 2 strikes and 1 global pandemic. I’ve worked in TV, film, commercials, and produced my own award-winning web series.

🧠 I’ve been a life coach for 5 years, specializing in mindfulness and neurolinguistic programming and helping people become more aware and focused on making positive changes in their lives.

💖 I blend lived experience with powerful, proven coaching tools.

🎢 Let’s get you feeling resilient, empowered, focused, playful, relaxed, confident, and riding the acting career roller coaster without throwing up! 🤗

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