Season 3 – epiBLOG 1:
Happy New Year to all of you! Thank you for joining me on our continued journey in Season 3 of the Uncloseted Professor Blog! I’m upping my game to another level in order to supply all of you with beneficial content to help you move forward as artists. Each month in this season, you will not only hear from me, but you will hear from other actively working artists so that you can have the opportunity to gain knowledge from their experience. So, please… “Stay tuned…”
Now… I appreciate the wonderful gifts of 2016! The victories and the learning experiences. I really do, but I’m super excited to move on to 2017! Today’s topic is on letting go of things that do not serve you well. This is definitely easier said than done because as I write this I feel the tension in my neck of things that I have not let go of. Just like me, these types of things can possibly be barriers that are standing in your way of success as an artist. In other words, are you standing in your own way?
I spent the last few days of 2016 binge-watching series’ on Direct TV and Netflix. Furthermore, AMC graced us all with the Breaking Bad marathon directly after Christmas, which had me on the edge of my seat as if I were watching it for the very first time again. A high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer, but turns to cooking meth to provide for his family – come on, this is American television at its finest. And don’t get me started on Game of Thrones, which we proudly finished binge-watching the week prior. “You know nothing, Jon Snow!” I love that line!
After a year of ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, it was nice to simply sit with my fiancé and our cute little dog to dive deep into the characters and worlds created by others. It felt like our way of momentarily escaping without having to apologize for being missing.
One of the most valuable epiphanies that I realized about myself just a few days before New Year’s Day is my inability to let things that bother me go. Binge-watching was a safe and healthy way for me to briefly disappear, but the realities of “not letting go” never vanished.
See, I went to the chiropractor last week. My first time going in well over 8 years. He was so courteous and professional, but during the adjustment process when he was near my neck and upper back, he said something to the effect of, “some people need to learn to let go.” That line stayed with me. As he uttered those words, I immediately felt the tension in my shoulders, neck, and upper back. Worry, limiting beliefs, and insecurities seemed to have found their home within these parts of my body without me even realizing that they moved in, kicked their feet up on the coffee table, and started to do a little binge-watching of their own.
Even though I didn’t like this newly discovered revelation, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I’m capable of doing something about this challenge since it has been brought to my attention.
It’s not like I wake up and think, “How can I be stressed out today about paying bills or raising the financing for my film projects to ensure that filmmakers are compensated for their talents and time?” I get that way because I hate consequences and disappointing others, and I do my best to avoid these situations at all costs. However, there are certain things in life that you CAN control and others that you CANNOT. I decided to focus on what I can control. Everything that is in my power to do on a daily basis will get done because it’s 100% up to me. Those things that I cannot control, I have to let go of because there is nothing that I can do to affect change with those events or challenges.
Not being stressed about uncontrollable circumstances frees your mind as an artist to continue to create. The stress causes you to hold back on creating, moving forward, and focusing on what is important to you. This way of thinking is extremely challenging for someone like me because I’m results-driven. Once I set a goal and a date for its attainment, I expect that it should happen exactly when I want it to and how I want it to. The problem with this is if your goals depend on the follow through of others (i.e., they involve the actions of others), this can obviously hinder your achievement because others have their own free will to follow through or not to. Additionally, I have to allow “life” to let things happen as they are supposed to, while still remaining focused on what I’m responsible for. Again, this is all easier said than done. I have not arrived, but I’m definitely working on getting there.
The LESSON today is for you to follow through on all of the tasks, objectives, and goals that are 100% in your ability to accomplish. In doing so, you will see enough success in your life that it will give you the confidence to move forward with even bigger endeavors.
FUN ASSIGNMENT: Create 5 goals and a plan for their attainment for 2017. Be sure that each goal is 100% dependent on your ability to follow through. Remember, these are goals with plans, NOT “wishful thinking” resolutions.
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