Independence Mindset

THIS BLOG WAS INSPIRED BY JULY 4 AND A DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND THE CELEBRATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

It’s July 4, y’all.

My friend suggested to me this holiday ritual:

Celebrate on Independence Day by becoming independent of all that no longer serves the big goals (or higher good). 

Immediately, I was like “Awesome! Yes! Out, out damn spot!”

Then it made me pause. 

What exactly doesn’t serve me?

I immediately started thinking of physical things (situations, people, jobs/projects, clothes, home clutter). I started running through the laundry list of immediate things that I feel like somehow block me from being FREE.

Then, I got it.

Ah, the things that don’t serve me are actually the deeper things – my insecurities, my jealousies, my negative thoughts, my harmful beliefs.

And this is the harder work.

How to ditch these deeper things that we have all already spent years and years developing and honing?

Answer: shift internally and the external will follow.

Artists are so susceptible to negative beliefs because we are constantly in a vulnerable position and facing either acceptance or rejection and we either absorb it or learn to guard against it. 

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say, “I would never want to be an artist, that seems really hard to deal with emotionally.”

They aren’t too far off. To me, artists don’t choose to be artists, because it’s more like something that you just have to do. It’s in your DNA somehow. It’s in your soulful spirit. So, it’s not going to go away.

But it sure is HARD.

Actors, it’s hard to stay in it for the long term. It’s hard to keep a positive spin against the infinite obstacles. It’s just plain old-fashioned hard.

Unless, the artist creates a sense of freedom in what he or she is doing and pursuing, it remains hard.

The artist has to feel INDEPENDENT to be able to create. 

There are two things that you can shift to be the Independent Artist that you most likely want to be:

1. Shift how  you do your art.  

Focus locally instead of just on getting to Broadway or becoming Jennifer Lawrence or Will Smith, be a creator instead of a waiting-around-actor, make process your goal instead of product, be in communities and not just in the audition room or your home.

2. Shift your belief  about yourself doing the art and being the artist.

Reprogram your mind to believe that you are uniquely talented and worth it and that you are contributing in little and big ways to humanity by being an artist. Cut off negative self-thoughts by not watering them to make them grow – nurture instead the way you want to grow that is magnificent. Send positive reinforcing thoughts to your brain in every pause possible. “You got this!” is my favorite one.

Being an artist for the long term is Mindset as much as skill and talent. If not more.

May you view July 4th with a new lens.

Starting July 4, create Independence from all that does not serve your higher (extremely talented!) self.

Much love to my fellow inspired artists,
Heidi