by Casting Director, Terry Berland
Is fear stopping you from taking bold and courageous actions?
As a casting director/acting coach, I know how to eliminate fear through understanding and strengthening the acting process, but fear may still be remaining for other reasons having to do with old and familiar thought processes. I always advise actors to go out in life and find and experiment with different ways that individually resonate with you to deal with your fears.
Admitting I am not an expert in this realm, I turned to Actor/Inspiration Coach Wendy Braun for some advice.
“Ever notice how anytime you decide to take some bold & courageous action, you somehow start to procrastinate, clean the house, check Facebook and do all kinds of things to distract you from the one thing that is keeping you from living your dream? What is the one thing? Fear.
Fear wants you to do anything but face it and tell it, “I am going to triumph over you.”
It wants you to stay safe and not risk rejection or failure. But keep this in mind….
For a long time, my habitual response to fear was action. If I just stayed “busy” enough (on mostly insignificant tasks), I would actually distract myself from having to deal with my fear.
As I look back on my life and career, whenever I faced my fears head on found a way to move beyond them (one bold baby step at a time), they always turned into something more than I ever imagined. In fact, some of my biggest accomplishments came from facing my biggest fears:
- Doing stand-up comedy.
- (Turned into sharing stage with great comics from the late Phyllis Diller to Chelsea Handler)
- Swimming in the ocean in the Malibu Triathlon.
- (Turned into winning medals two years in a row)
- Moving to LA to pursue my dreams.
- (Turned into almost two decades of working as an actress, meeting my soul mate, and becoming a mom)
Here are 5 Keys To Moving Beyond Fear:
1. Taking action. Allow each small step you take to build your confidence.
2. Learn as you go. Use failure as feedback + readjust your inner or outer game (or both).
3. See yourself on the other side. Visualize the outcome you want + how it will feel to triumph over your fear.
4. Take nothing personally. Don’t internalize the rejection—it’s one moment, not who you are.
5. Stay inspired. Remind yourself of the past fears you’ve overcome and tell yourself to keep going.”
If you need some guidance, Wendy’s latest guided meditation and visualization audio, Moving Beyond Fear, will leave you feeling empowered and ready to take bold action. Here’s how you can download it for free right now.
http://actorinspiration.com/auditionsuccess/
Any reproduction or usage of this article on other websites must be credited to Terry Berland, Casting Director and linked back to here.
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Terry Berland is an award-winning casting director for on-camera, television, voice-over, and hosting. Her casting awards include Clio, The Houston International Film Festival, Art Director’s Club, Addy, and the International Film and Television Festival. Her former casting staff position for Madison Avenue giant BBDO/NY has lent to her deep understanding and involvement in the advertising industry. She is known throughout the country for her talent development and is the co-author of the how-to industry book,”Breaking Into Commercials.”
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