7 Ways to Keep Your Acting Goals and Resolutions

 

Failure to Set Goals Hurts Chances for Success.  But Setting Goals Is Only Half the Battle

What do you think?  If you went on 200 casting calls in 2014, would you get work?  If you took whatever you could find in any production, even if free, would it advance your career?  If you created 100 YouTube videos in the next 6 months, do you think you'd make a living after that?  What if you did all three?

None of those goals seem hard to achieve.  None cost very much.  All would require very hard work, lots of time, and emotional energy.  You might get a lot of "no's" and you still might not make a great living by the end of 2014, but I'd be willing to bet that even a mediocre talent will achieve some success with that plan. 

That may not be the best possible plan, so set your own.  This blog post is about what to do after you have the goals written down.  Preferably you also write out a detailed action plan for how to implement the goals.  The following are recommendations for how to actually achieve the goals you've set. 

I have been setting goals for as long as I can remember.   I have also watched others have various levels of success with their goals and resolutions.  Here are the seven things that help me achieve a high degree of success.  Maybe some will help you.

1.  Let your yes be yes and your no be no - in other words, your word should be your bond, not just with others, but, by all means, with yourself.  The secret to not breaking your word is to not give it out willy nilly.  So only set out goals that you seriously intend to keep.  This will create a pattern of success that will allow you to set new resolutions in the future.

2.  Keep your eye on the prize.  If the plan requires doing something you’d rather not (like eating less or exercising more), there will be days, or weeks, or every day, when you struggle with doing what you’ve planned to do.  Visualize the result your hoping for … in detail.  Even imagine the praise you might receive or the trophy you might win. 

3.  Reward yourself often for achieving small victories.  Dark chocolate is a great reward.  It has been proven to be good for you.  Only allow yourself the indulgence on those days or weeks when you have done what you planned to do.

4.  Share with others in the effort.  If you have others to socialize with while shooting videos or findin casting calls, or just other folks to keep you accountable, you chances of staying on course rise dramatically.  Choose your accountability or discipline partners carefully.  The wrong one can drag you down. 

5.  Keep some kind of record that provides you with a check box or way to line through the various levels of accomplishment.  It helps to stay motivated when there is a score that is being kept.  You might even compete with your partner, but keep it fun.

6.  Tell the world about your resolution.  The more folks who know you’ve made a pledge to accomplish some goal, the harder it will be to back away when the going gets tough.  Keep a few friends apprised of your progress; specifically, those you know will encourage you.

7.  Assuming there is a time associated with the goal, tell yourself this on the hardest days:  “I can do anything for two months (or fill in the blank with the time left).”  This isn’t a lie.  Humans are quite capable of strenuous or noxious tasks if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Go For It! 

One goal you may want to set for 2014 is to take some acting classes.  You could take classes that would hone skills you already possess, help you improve areas that are not your strongest suits, or even classes in the business of acting.  Check out our class schedule on this page or go to our website home page at http://actingclassforfilm.com