RTL Today - My Goddamn Quest for Happiness

My guest this month is Andrew Tidmarsh - theatre and film director, writer and teacher.

This is the second part of my interview with special guest Andrew Tidmarsh - theatre and film director, writer and teacher. He has written a book on Narrative Structure in film and theatre (Genre - A Guide to Writing for Stage and Screen, Methuen), and another for actors - focusing on professional and business development (An Attitude for Acting, Nick Hern Books).

Andrew has worked as course director of RADA’s Foundation Course and Drama Centre London’s MA in European Classical Acting, and as an associate tutor on the MA in Playwriting at Goldsmiths, University of London.

In today’s episode, we talk about the antidote to the happiness and success narratives, one that can be found within the self-help narrative.

My guest this month is Andrew Tidmarsh - theatre and film director, writer and teacher.

He has written a book on Narrative Structure in film and theatre (Genre - A Guide to Writing for Stage and Screen, Methuen), and another for actors - focusing on professional and business development (An Attitude for Acting, Nick Hern Books).

In today’s episode, we talk about the happiness and success narratives, how they are portrayed in society today and how they affect our own happiness. Come back next month for part 2 of the conversation.

Ever wondered why some people thrive when faced with a challenge, while others simply give up? Why some people keep becoming better and better, while others seem to stagnate? Well, aren’t you lucky - that just so happens to be this month’s topic! The wonderful world of a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset.

This month’s episode looks at what we can do when all else fails. Finding the drive to pursue happiness can often seem completely out of reach - we might feel deflated, be struggling, or just can’t be bothered. When even self-esteem let’s us down, there is something that can help us that doesn’t even require a whole lot of effort: Self-Compassion.

Picking up on a theme that has been underlying all other topics so far: What happens if we claim 100% responsibility for what happens to us?

Sound like a lot of pressure? I would agree. Both sides of the coin will be examined in this week’s episode.

Welcome to the ramblings of Anne Klein. It’s been pointed out to Anne that her self-deprecating nature is at odds with the contents of this podcast - hence why she decided to address this in the current episode. Also: some insight into a life well-lived, according to ‘The Guardian’.

SAY THAT 10x FAST! Mwahahaha! Values are the underlying force that drive our actions. So how do we find out what our values are, and why should we? That’s what this episode is here to find out. Aren’t you a lucky bastard?

What the hell is a love language? Turns out there are 5 different types of love language- and if you speak a different one to your partner, you won’t be able to tell when they are expressing their love to you. WHAT?! Crazy, right? Tune in to find out more.

In part two of this theme, Anne takes a closer look at language patterns called ‘Deletions' and 'Generalisations'. If you catch yourself saying things like ‘everyone’, or ‘should’ on a regular basis, this episode is for you! If you haven’t listened to part 1 yet, go back and do that now! Go on! Do it!

The words we use when we speak affect our emotions. Anne discusses some patterns we tend to use in our language that are counter-productive and easily avoided. Based on a theory from NLP, she looks at what tends to come up most and how we can question and change these behaviours. If you apply these to yourself, YOU TOO can now become a smug bastard correcting other people when they speak. FUN!