Malcolm Gladwell states in his book ‘Outliers’ that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill.
That assumes that every minute of those 10,000 hours was spent on proper practice. Because if you practice the wrong thing, you master the wrong thing.
And as with anything that is worth doing, it takes time, nurturing, courage, skill, knowledge, support investment, thought and RIGHT practice.
When I first decided to pursue a post-graduate degree in theatre in 2015, every step I took was a calculated, deliberate one. I made choices daily - usually numbering in the thousands I’d imagine - about where to spend my intellectual and emotional energy because I knew that I needed to create and nurture a practice that would give me the best chance of success at a long career in the performing arts.
It sounds relentless, obsessive and exhausting. But it wasn’t. Rather than pressuring myself to make the “right” decision, I grounded every decision in my purpose. Once I did that, the right decision for me - in that moment - became clear.
And so it is with building a healthy inner life practice. We all have different needs and it is critical to apply conscious thought. Don’t just take what someone else has done and apply it to your practice. Think. What do YOU need? What SMALL STEPS can you take to get what you need? For example, I attend Musical Theatre dance choreography classes - specifically dance choreography as opposed to skills classes - because I know this is what I need to feel comfortable in stressful audition environments.
Having a healthy inner life practice does not make you immune to the sting of rejection, the inertia of repeated failure and the crushing weight of inadequacy. What it does is it gives you a path to re-direct your energy. I have found that creating a healthy inner life practice that comes from what EU JIN specifically needs gives me the space to see more than just my fears when they threaten to overwhelm me. And even when they do overwhelm me, I know that I will eventually see a way past them because I am practicing what is right for me.
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My name is Eu Jin. I embarked on a career as a professional actor after 20 years in the corporate world. I am a big advocate of personal growth in the performing arts. I dedicate time and energy in performing arts education, specifically in the arena of practical approaches to inner health because I believe that this lays the groundwork for a sustainable career as an artiste.
If you would like to engage in a conversation about a healthy inner life practice, please leave me a message on the "Contact" page of my website and a way to contact you. Thank you!